BIG jolt to China’s Middle East strategy as Saudi Arabia turns down offer to buy Pakistan’s J-35 fighter jet due to…

Saudi Arabia shunning the J-35 stealth fighter jet is being viewed as a shocking blow to China's efforts to weaken Western dominance in the Middle East and expand its arms market in the oil-rich region.

Saudi Arabia has reportedly turned down the offer to purchase the J-35 stealth fighter jet, dealing a major blow to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Middle East strategy, as he wanted powerful Gulf nations to replace their American-made armaments with Chinese weaponry. According to experts, Xi Jinping hoped that if Gulf powers like Saudi Arabia purchased China’s J-35 fighter jet, it would shut the door for American weapons in the Middle East, besides increasing Beijing’s weapon sales.

However, despite Beijing’s efforts to make inroads in the Middle East arms market, Saudi Arabia held discussions with UK, Italy and Japan during the G-20 summit in India, to develop sixth-generation fighter jets, defense website Idrw reported, adding that talks between these countries have since reached an advanced stage.

As per the report, the deal is expected to confirmed by the end of this year, and discussions are underway to formulate an outline of the proposed project.

Major blow to China

Saudi Arabia shunning the J-35 stealth fighter jet is being viewed as a shocking blow to China’s efforts to weaken Western dominance in the Middle East and expand its arms market in the oil-rich region.

Notably, Pakistan is so far the only foreign buyer for Chinese-made 5th generation J-35 fighter jet, and experts believe that Islamabad might have capitulated to Beijing’s pressure and signed the deal. However, Riyadh was apparently under no such pressure, and after its refusal to buy the Chinese stealth jet, other nations, especially in the Middle East, with whom was negotiating a J-35 deal, may also back out.

According to the report, Saudi Arabia’s was not sudden, but a well thought out one as Riyadh has over the years, displayed a measured interest in Chinese military hardware, purchasing some armaments and participating in joint military drills, but stopping short of acquiring any strategic weapons from China.

Experts believe that Riyadh’s military ties with Beijing are part of its strategic diversification in arms purchases, rather than a prolonged commitment to Chinese arms.

As per the Idrw report, Saudi Arabia and Western nations are already engaged in confidential talks, indicating Riyadh’s long-term strategy to bolster its military capabilities with superior technology.

J-35 fighter jet shortcomings

Although cheaper than its Western-made counterparts, such as the F-35, China’s J-35 stealth fighter is marred by the perceived quality and reliability of Chinese military hardware. This was evident at the World Defense Show in Saudi Arabia in February 2024, when J-35’s predecessor, the FC-31, failed to secure any buyers.

The reliability of Chinese weaponry, while largely perceptional, are not completely unfounded, as they have been well documented. Chinese-made CH-4 drones have reportedly witnessed numerous operational failures in Libya and Yemen, while Chinese air defense systems such as the HQ-9 lagged behind Western competitors in live tests, resulting in potential buyer opting for Western-made systems.

According to the report, Saudi Arabia’s decision to join the UK-Italy-Japan consortium for developing a sixth-generation fighter jet is part of Riyadh’s broader vision for sustainable national security, and also serves as a wake up call for China’s arms industry, whose tactic of offering cheaper alternatives has not translated into the expected market dominance in the Middle East, especially when quality and performance under scrutiny reveal significant gaps.