Following the US-Israeli military attacks on Iran, China is attempting to implement a “regime destruction strategy” in Iran. This strategy relies on understanding US and Israeli military technologies through field data obtained from all the US and Israeli missiles, drones, and fighter jets that participated in directing and launching military operations against Iranian targets. Intelligence, military, defense, and security think tanks in Beijing aim to study the performance of all these Israeli, Western, and American weapons in other conflicts, such as Ukraine, to develop their own defense systems and integrate artificial intelligence into them. This is intended to defend their sovereignty and national security in Taiwan, the South China Sea, and their areas of direct influence. This vision reflects a fundamental shift in the nature of the military and technological alliance between Beijing and Tehran, where cooperation is no longer limited to commercial deals but has transformed into a comprehensive field laboratory on the actual battlefield.
Iranian territory is a fertile ground for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and Chinese military and intelligence institutions to dismantle and study all American, Western, and Israeli weapons that have already been used and directed against Iran. The most prominent features of this Chinese military strategy and its technological alliance with Iran in this regard lie in China’s desire to test American, Western, and Israeli weapons by proxy through Iran. Here, Iran serves as a “real-world” testing ground for Chinese technologies. By supplying Iran’s allies with Chinese drones and technologies, or by integrating Chinese components into Iranian weapons, Beijing monitors how these technologies perform against Western defense systems, such as the Patriot. In addition to what China, its military, and its centers and institutions are trying to achieve through data engineering from external conflicts, China is leveraging the “lessons learned” data that Iran gathers from conflicts like those in Ukraine, particularly regarding the effectiveness of suicide drones, such as the Shahed-136, against Western electronic systems, to integrate this data into its own artificial intelligence algorithms.
This Chinese military plan is based on what is known militarily as the (Systems Destruction Warfare Strategy): In other words, China is adopting a military philosophy that does not aim to destroy individual American and Israeli tanks or aircraft used to launch military strikes against Iran, but rather to disrupt the network connecting American and Israeli forces on Iranian soil. This network would then be studied, dismantled, and subsequently redeveloped to create more advanced technologies. This would be achieved through a massive military database of field data obtained by China and its army from Iran, which would help them develop similar electronic warfare tools capable of blinding Western, Israeli, and American sensors, rendering them inoperable and incapable of future communication, thus completely crippling their military capabilities and paralyzing their movements.
Here, China is using artificial intelligence technologies on the Iranian and later Ukrainian battlefields (with Russian assistance) to identify the military and defensive patterns employed by the US, the West, and Israel in actual combat. China is then using this vast field data collected from real battlefields to train its systems to recognize the radar and thermal signatures of Western, American, and Israeli weapons. This makes Chinese air defense systems more capable of intercepting Western missiles and fighter jets in any future conflict. In short, we can conclude that China is using Iran as a “technical radar” to identify weaknesses in Western, American, and Israeli arsenals without engaging in direct confrontation.
In this context, China is pursuing a meticulous and intensive strategy to transform conflict zones involving Western, American, and Israeli technology, such as Ukraine and Iran, into veritable “field laboratories.” Its aim is to decipher the code of American and Israeli military superiority. This Chinese military strategy focuses on several key axes that serve Beijing’s objectives in Taiwan and the South China Sea. These axes include (analyzing the performance of Western weapons in Ukraine and Iran): This involves collecting field data. Here, China benefits from battlefield data from Ukraine, whether through coordination with Russia or by monitoring the performance of Western weapons systems used, such as HIMARS and Patriot systems, to understand their weaknesses and develop “reverse engineering techniques” to dismantle this technology. (Experiencing China’s actual testing of military systems in Iran): With the recent strikes targeting Iran and the commencement of the comprehensive American-Israeli military attack against Iran on February 28, 2026, China’s role became prominent in supplying Tehran with advanced defense systems, such as stealth radars and surveillance systems, to counter American and Israeli air and cyber superiority.
To develop more advanced Chinese weapons, technologies, and tactics than those of the US, Israel, and the West, China is attempting to integrate, study, dismantle, and analyze them militarily and technically using its advanced artificial intelligence systems. This aims to develop Chinese defense systems that will militarily surpass the US and the West, thus maintaining China’s qualitative and overall military superiority in the future. This is done through the use of AI systems to develop advanced Chinese defense systems that will give China military superiority over the US and the West, ensuring its qualitative and overall military edge in the future. The goal is to accelerate what is known militarily as “chain killing tactics.” Beijing is observing how artificial intelligence accelerates targeting operations and increases lethality in Ukraine and Iran and is working to integrate these lessons into its military doctrine to ensure superiority in future conflicts, especially in its direct spheres of influence in Taiwan and the South China Sea, should a war break out with the US in this context. To achieve these long-term Chinese military objectives, Beijing aimed to establish Iran’s technological and digital dominance. Here, China is pressuring its allies, such as Iran, to replace Western and American software with encrypted Chinese systems, such as the Chinese BeiDou navigation system, which is intended as an alternative to the American and Western GPS navigation system.
This is to reduce the risk of infiltration by the CIA and Mossad within Iranian territory. This necessitates Chinese intelligence and cyber coordination with Iran. China is currently assisting Iran in building a tightly controlled national information network and providing intelligence data on the movements of American naval vessels and military bases scattered throughout the Gulf region. China and the People’s Liberation Army consider this practical training for their intelligence systems in a real conflict environment.
Finally, the most important future strategic, military, intelligence, and defense objectives of Beijing emerge from its pursuit of securing its interests and direct spheres of influence in Taiwan and the South China Sea and protecting its national security from any future US or Western military interventions or actions. China, along with the People’s Liberation Army’s desire to prepare for 2027, is utilizing lessons learned from the practical failure of Russian amphibious and logistical operations on the Ukrainian battlefield, for example, to develop “hybrid tactical” plans that would ensure the success of any Chinese military move towards Taiwan. Furthermore, China aims to deplete US military and defense resources, particularly in the future. Beijing believes that Washington’s preoccupation with defending its allies in the Middle East and Europe, such as Israel and Ukraine, is diverting its military capabilities, such as withdrawing Patriot batteries and aircraft carriers. This reduces the US military deterrent available to counter Chinese expansion in the Pacific and its direct spheres of influence in Taiwan and the South China Sea.
