Beijing Denies Russian Rumors of Su-35 Purchase; Evaluating China's Intelligence Penetration of Taiwan
Publication: China Brief Volume: 12 Issue: 6March 15, 2012 03:57 PM Age: 33 days
By: Peter Mattis
Is the Su-35 Bound for China?
BEIJING DENIES RUSSIAN RUMORS OF SU-35 FIGHTER PURCHASE
Last week, Russian media reported Moscow was close to finalizing a $4 billion deal for 48 Su-35s with Beijing. The reported sticking point was that the Russian side wanted greater assurances that Chinese engineers would not reverse engineer the Su-35 and put it into domestic production like the Su-27, which is the model for China's J-11 (Taipei Times, March 9; Kommersant, March 8; RIA Novosti, March 6). The report by the Russian newspaper Kommersant has generated a flurry of Western commentary; however, there is a striking difference between the Chinese-language and foreign-language coverage of this issue. China's Ministry of National Defense (MND) has denied emphatically that such a deal is in the works, stating the press coverage is "not in accord with the facts" and the Su-35 "does not fit China's national situation" (Caixun, March 12; Global Times, March 12). This discrepancy undermines Western analysis of the strategic implications of this announcement and suggests China's defense aerospace industry is making sufficient progress to meet its military needs.
In a widely reprinted interview, Major General Wei Gang, a senior officer in the People's Liberation Army Air Force's (PLAAF) Armaments Department from 2004 to 2011, spoke about the PLAAF's success in using indigenous innovation (zizhu chuangxin) to meet equipment needs. General Wei touted the J-10 as such an example, while conspicuously avoiding the J-11. Perhaps most importantly, Wei commented that the copying of foreign equipment does not get the PLAAF what it needs and "we must develop forces that meet the needs of China's developmental circumstances" (China Central Broadcasting, March 9; People's Net, March 9).
This interview, in combination with MND's denial, suggests the Kommersant report may be simply rumor—or, alternatively, Beijing is trying to save face by denying the Su-35 deal was ever serious, knowing China's aerospace industry would not honor the Russian request not to reverse engineer their technology. Giving credence to Beijing's story over the Russian version suggests Chinese aerospace firms finally may be producing jet engines of the quality needed for advanced fighters—an area where they long have struggled [1]. At a minimum, the Chinese story, if true, would indicate the PLAAF does have its development well in hand and does not have a projected fighter shortfall like the United States and Taiwan.
Very good question. 
