China Gives Pakistan 50 Fighter Jets
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — China has agreed to immediately provide 50 JF-17 fighter jets to Pakistan, a major outcome of a visit by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to Beijing this week, Pakistani officials said Thursday.
China and Pakistan have jointly produced the JF-17 aircraft, but the new planes would be equipped with more sophisticated avionics, the officials said. The latest jet fighters would be paid for by China, they said. The announcement came as Pakistan’s already tense relations with the United States soured further after the killing of Osama bin Laden deep inside Pakistan on May 2.
The Statesman: China 'asks USA to respect Pak sovereignty' - China has “warned in unequivocal terms that any attack on Pakistan would be construed as an attack on China.” The warning was formally conveyed by the Chinese foreign minister at last week's China-US strategic dialogue talks in Washington.