Understand how Pakistan helps China in arms trade
There is a profound transformation taking place in Middle East security, largely out of the limelight. Following the Joint Strategic Defense Agreement signed in September 2025 between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, an agreement in which an attack on one is an attack on both, Pakistan immediately deployed JF-17 fighter jets, troops and defense assets to the Kingdom.
This deployment, which came as a result of the recent memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran, was not just a show of Pakistani support. It was a live-fire display of Chinese military equipment on Arab soil.Pakistan has become China’s main gateway for military expansion in the Middle East. Instead of selling weapons directly, Beijing is using Islamabad as a “white-label” promoter, taking advantage of Pakistan’s deep ties with Gulf states to push Chinese defense systems into a region historically dominated by the West.
Gate strategy
China is actively using Pakistan to broker deals for JF-17 fighter jets, HQ-9 air defense systems, and armed drones to a sprawling list of countries, including Iraq, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Morocco, Libya, Bangladesh, Sudan, and Ethiopia.Pakistan acts as a crucial mediator, protecting China from geopolitical frictions. A notable example of this is the recent $4 billion defense deal where Pakistan supplied 16 JF-17 aircraft and trainer aircraft to the Libyan National Army. This arrangement allowed China to radically alter the military balance in Libya and expand its footprint while Pakistan absorbed the potentially violent international backlash – and critics noted that the arrangement could undermine the UN arms embargo on Libya, escalating the country’s internal conflict by altering the military balance, raising questions about the legitimacy of the Libyan National Army as a recipient, and intensifying broader geopolitical tensions in an already fragmented regional security environment.
However, not all proposed deals were accepted. One of the announced arrangements was for Pakistan to supply JF-17 aircraft to Saudi Arabia in exchange for financial arrangements, including a $2 billion loan that Riyadh extended to Islamabad. That deal did not materialize, largely due to concerns about the quality of Chinese weapons, interoperability with existing Saudi systems of American origin, and broader financial considerations.Despite aggressive promotion, Gulf states have been reluctant to purchase Chinese systems outright, citing the same concerns about quality, interoperability and financing. However, as the Gulf states reevaluate their security priorities and their confidence in American protection diminishes, Pakistan’s role as a trusted mediator becomes invaluable.
“Ataba Alliance”
To understand how Pakistan became this gateway, we must look at the depth of its military integration with China.
A landmark report by the United States Institute of Peace describes this partnership as no ordinary partnership, but rather as a “threshold alliance,” meaning that the material and technical conditions for joint wartime operations are already in place.According to SIPRI, more than 80% of Pakistan’s arms imports between 2021 and 2024 came from China. Today, the PAF has six squadrons of Chinese J-17s and J-10s compared to just three squadrons of American F-16s — and Pakistan still operates those American platforms, occasionally receiving American military assistance alongside its deep Chinese ties.
Moreover, Pakistan’s conventional offensive missiles rely entirely on China’s Beidou satellite navigation system – the same system used by the Chinese military.Based on this foundation: This saturation does more than just arm Pakistan; It inextricably links logistics, maintenance and supply chains in Islamabad and Beijing. Because the Pakistani military essentially constitutes a fully integrated Chinese ecosystem, it has the unique operational credibility to convince the Gulf states that Chinese weapons are not just cheap alternatives, but viable, battle-ready platforms.
China has aggressively promoted this narrative, capitalizing on the intense propaganda around the supposed success of the JF-17 and other Chinese platforms during the May 2025 conflict between India and Pakistan as a vivid marketing case study for the region.
pakistani army as engineer
Translating hardware sales into actual regional security integration requires doctrine, and here the Pakistani military establishment is quietly doing the heavy lifting. Following the appointment of Army Chief General Asim Munir in late 2022, who is widely seen as being backed by Beijing, his direct visits to Riyadh and the UAE put Sino-Pakistani defense integration high on the Gulf agenda.The Pakistani Army is currently performing vital missions for China in the Middle East:1. Intensive training is being conducted with China (such as the Shaheen random air maneuvers) and separate exercises with Saudi Arabia (such as the Kasih). They are actively developing hybrid military protocols that blend Eastern and Western tactics, allowing Gulf forces to adopt Chinese technology without abandoning existing command structures.2. Under Pakistan’s guidance, Gulf armies are testing Chinese aircraft. During Qatar’s Zelzal-2 exercise, Pakistani pilots flew J-10C and JF-17 aircraft against Western systems, providing the Gulf states with an unbiased assessment of Chinese capabilities.3. Islamabad acts as an unofficial channel, aligning Beijing and the Gulf states’ threat perceptions regarding the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.Ultimately, this arms promotion serves a larger strategic construct.
This alliance is based on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the strategic port of Gwadar. By securing this corridor, China gains direct access to the Arabian Sea, bypassing the weak Strait of Malacca guarded by the United States. The Pakistani army provides security for this infrastructure, while at the same time facilitating Chinese naval access to the Gulf under the guise of securing trade routes.Looking to the future, if the potential “Islamic NATO” discussed by Pakistan and Turkey takes shape, China may view it as an enhanced market for its weapons systems. In the wake of the US-Iran deal, some observers expect China to move to shower Iran with weapons as well, further integrating its region of interoperable countries.What is emerging now is not a formal “Islamic NATO,” but rather a high-performance, interoperable security network that Beijing leads from the shadows. As discussions circulated about a potential Chinese nuclear umbrella for this emerging axis, the consequences became clear. While the United States is largely focused on the Russian-Chinese dynamic, the Sino-Pakistani Ataba alliance is already rewriting the defense landscape in the Middle East, using Pakistani aircraft, Pakistani pilots, and Pakistani diplomacy to tighten Chinese dominance in the Gulf.
