China’s fighter jets line up at the Paris Air Show. Can they win over Europe?

Defence budgets are growing on the continent but military purchases are not just about price and performance, analysts say

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To stake a claim in the European market, Chinese fighter jet firms will have to overcome a series of barriers, according to analysts. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 6:00pm, 23 Jun 2025

For European fighter jet buyers looking for ways to spend growing military budgets, the Paris Air Show offered no shortage of aircraft options.

Dassault Aviation was out in force with the Rafale, one of France’s bestselling military aircraft, as were US aerospace giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin with their offerings.

Away from the main exhibition venue, China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation gave a glimpse of its country’s advanced military aircraft, presenting scale models of China’s fifth-generation fighter jets, the J-20 and the J-35A.

The line-up also included the J-10CE, the export variant of the 4.5-generation J-10C multirole combat aircraft.

It was a strong showing by the Chinese defence major in a market where it has traditionally been an outsider.

But even as European countries up their military spending and frictions with the US rise, Chinese defence firms will continue to struggle to win over buyers on the continent.

Observers said Europe’s political scepticism about China meant the United States would maintain its dominance in fighter jet sales and encourage more local investment in the European aerospace industry.

China’s fighter jets line up at the Paris Air Show. Can they win over Europe?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Defence budgets are growing on the continent but military purchases are not just about price and performance, analysts say

Defence budgets are growing on the continent but military purchases are not just about price and performance, analysts say