J-35 Dream of Destroying F-35 Collapses! Fatal Flaws Exposed, China's Military Tech is Scrap!The main content of the program

Promoted as a naval trump card, China's J-35, exposed, can only fly for seven minutes, spewing thick black smoke. China's aircraft carriers and tanks turn to scrap. In front of U.S. forces, the Venezuela battle proves it. White House hints Xi could be next. Taiwan war may be the CCP's suicidal gamble. Over 100,000 troops could die as the regime faces the risk of collapse. China's economic collapse is shocking. The year-end is hard to survive. Cries of distress everywhere. Zhang Xiaojun's downfall confirmed. Xi Jinping scared out of his wits. You're watching Decoding China, where we bring you timely analysis and grounded perspectives on today's China. Promoted as a naval trump card, China's J-35, exposed, can only fly for seven minutes, spewing thick black smoke. As 2026 began, Beijing was confronted with a series of unfavorable developments. In Venezuela, U.S. special forces entered the country and detained President Maduro, while the air defense systems supplied by China failed to make any meaningful impact. At the same time, another story began circulating within China's military circles. This one centered on the carrier-based fighter jet J-35, an aircraft that state media had repeatedly promoted as an F-35 killer. The J-35 was presented as a fifth-generation carrier-based fighter designed for operations in distant waters. However, in practice, after taking off from an aircraft carrier and flying approximately 900 kilometers to the combat zone, the remaining fuel allows for only about seven minutes of patrol and interception, including the mandatory reserve for the return flight. That figure applies under cruise conditions, without supersonic flight or afterburner use. Once the aircraft is required to accelerate or pursue enemy targets, fuel consumption rises sharply, reducing operational time to less than three minutes. In scenarios requiring afterburner use, the remaining margin is measured in seconds. The J-35 is not a small aircraft. With a length of nearly 18 meters and a wingspan of more than 12 meters, its dimensions approach those of the F-22 and exceed those of the F-35. To maintain range, internal fuel capacity was expanded. To preserve stealth and internal weapons bays, the fuselage was stretched. As a result, the empty weight climbed to 17 to 18 tons, comparable to a Soviet-era Su-27. The J-35's internal fuel capacity is estimated at 8.5 to 9 tons, roughly equivalent to the 8.9 tons carried by the U.S. Navy's F-35C. The difference lies in consumption. The F-35C uses one engine, allowing all fuel to support a single power plant. The J-35 must divide a similar fuel load between two engines, within an airframe that generates greater drag. Another technical detail frequently cited in internal discussions concerns the engine bypass ratio. The J-35's engines are reported to have a bypass ratio of approximately 0.68, a relatively high figure for a fighter aircraft and one more typical of designs optimized for subsonic fuel efficiency. The F-35's engine has a bypass ratio of about 0.57, more suitable for sustained high-speed operation. With a higher bypass ratio, the J-35 achieves range by prioritizing subsonic flight. The widely cited 7 minutes is calculated under these conditions, not during supersonic flight. In a CCTV propaganda segment showcasing the electromagnetic catapult on the aircraft carrier Fujian, one detail stood out. The aircraft shown on the catapult was not the J-35, but the J-20. The J-20 is a land-based fighter, large and heavy, and not originally designed for carrier operations. In a tightly controlled propaganda system, the choice to display the J-20 instead of the J-35 was not incidental. As the J-35 struggles to meet the requirements of distant water operations, alternative options have been considered. The J-20 has been examined for a carrier role, which would require structural reinforcement, corrosion protection, and modifications to the wings and landing systems. Each change increases weight and alters the aircraft's original aerodynamic configuration. The Fujian was designed around the J-35. Introducing a larger aircraft such as the J-20 raises practical questions about elevator capacity, deck space, and sortie generation rates. These issues do not appear in propaganda footage, but they remain central to real-world operations. The J-35 was expected to satisfy multiple demands at once—stealth, twin engines, low cost, and carrier compatibility. With insufficient engine power, these requirements collide with one another. In distant maritime warfare, an adversary does not wait for a brief engagement. Without sustained time on station, claims of parity with the F-35 exist only in media narratives. Until the engine problem is resolved, the J-35 can operate only within a very narrow window. That window defines the true standing of China's naval aviation, regardless of how CCTV or the Chinese Communist Party choose to present it on screen. China's aircraft carriers and tanks turn to scrap? In front of U.S. forces? The Venezuela battle proves it. On January 3, 2026, the U.S. military carried out a decapitation strike in Venezuela. The operation lasted exactly five hours. Only 20 soldiers were involved. No U.S. casualties were recorded. There were no aircraft carriers positioned offshore. No carpet bombing. No cities turned into scorched earth. When it was over, the air defense system promoted as the strongest in South America was completely paralyzed, and Venezuela's president was captured inside his own residence. According to guards who were on site, the battle had effectively ended before the first shot was fired. Radar screens went dark simultaneously. No warnings. No anomalies. Their ears were immediately flooded with piercing, continuous noise, with no sense of direction. Their bodies began reacting violently, pain from inside, so intense they could not stand upright. Many suffered nosebleeds. Many vomited. Some temporarily lost all ability to move. Communication with nearby comrades was cut off. Orders from commanders never came through. Within minutes, organized units were torn apart. Each person was isolated, alone in darkness, noise, and fear. The guards said the radar was not jammed in the conventional sense. Under normal jamming, screens fill with interference or false targets, and operators know they are under electronic attack. This time, there was nothing. The screens were completely black. The system froze. Reboots produced no response. The entire air defense network stopped at the same moment, as if someone had flipped a switch. In later testimony, one detail appeared repeatedly. A guard said it felt as if every opposing soldier could fire around 300 rounds per minute. Amid smoke and chaos, the guards described seeing humanoid and four-legged silhouettes moving quickly and steadily, pouring out continuous fire. They did not slow when fired upon. Alongside automated systems, the 20 U.S. soldiers on site carried weapons and equipment that allowed sustained, stable fire. Automated fire control optics calculated wind, distance, and environmental conditions, displaying optimal kill points. At the same time, powered support systems allowed them to carry heavy loads and move at high speed without visible fatigue. After the operation, attention did not remain on Venezuela. Multiple radar systems and command structures were confirmed to be of the same type, architecture, and in some cases using the same software code as systems deployed in other strategic regions. The fact that the entire network shut down simultaneously without signs of physical destruction on site caused one question to surface with increasing clarity. For Beijing, this is not merely a defeat occurring far away. It is a death notice for its future. When the U.S. military brings into real combat weapons the PLA can only dream of, Beijing should understand the message clearly. In the face of absolute technological dominance and a decisive human gap, everything you rely on is nothing more than scrap metal from a bygone era. White House Hints Xi Could Be Next Taiwan war may be the CCP's suicidal gamble. Over 100,000 troops could die as the regime faces the risk of collapse. Recently, the Marshall Foundation, a U.S.-based strategic think tank, released a major report examining scenarios in which the Chinese Communist Party uses military force against Taiwan. The central conclusion is stark. If Beijing launches a full scale war, Chinese military casualties could exceed 100,000, triggering political consequences inside the regime that may spiral out of control. The report emphasizes that the greatest risk lies not only in battlefield losses but in the chain reaction within the CCP's power structure. In the event of failure, Beijing's leadership is likely to shift blame onto frontline commanders, accusing them of strategic misjudgment or incompetence. Even in limited conflict scenarios such as a blockade of the Taiwan Strait or selective strikes intended to probe U.S. reactions, the PLA would still face severe risks. The report notes that the U.S.-Taiwan-Japan alliance would respond swiftly and forcefully, pushing any attempt at controlled escalation beyond Beijing's ability to manage. In a full scale war scenario, the outlook is even more severe. If China invades Taiwan, the U.S. military would intervene directly with carrier strike groups, submarines, and air power. PLA landing operations would be met with overwhelming firepower, turning the Taiwan Strait into a massive killing zone. According to the report, such an outcome would represent not just a military defeat but a direct blow to the CCP's legitimacy and regime stability. In most scenarios, China fails to achieve its objective. Taiwan survives as an independent democracy, but the war devolves into a bloody quagmire. China loses dozens of warships, including aircraft carriers and amphibious vessels, as well as hundreds of aircraft. The United States also suffers heavy losses, including multiple aircraft carriers, aircraft, and thousands of personnel. Taiwan holds out, but at the cost of massive economic collapse and infrastructure destruction. At the same time, the global geopolitical environment is rapidly deteriorating for the CCP. In January 2026, large-scale anti-government protests in Iran entered their third week, triggered by an economic crisis and currency collapse. Protesters burned portraits of senior leaders while chanting, down with Kamenei, down with Xi Jinping. More than 500 deaths and approximately 10,000 arrests have been reported. President Trump publicly voiced support for the protesters and warned of severe consequences if violent repression continued. On January 12th, Trump revealed that Iran's leadership had proactively reached out to the United States seeking dialogue. While confirming that a meeting was being arranged, he also hinted that actions could occur before any talks take place. These rapid and deliberate moves indicate Washington is steadily increasing pressure not only on Tehran but indirectly on Beijing. That same day, Trump announced on Truth Social that any country trading with the Islamic Republic of Iran would face a 25% tariff on all exports to the United States. While officially targeting Iran, the measure strikes directly at China, Tehran's largest trading partner. China has been purchasing more than 90% of Iran's oil exports at discounted prices, treating them as a strategic energy lifeline. With Chinese goods already facing high tariffs, this move delivers another heavy blow to Beijing. Earlier, the Trump administration approved sweeping sanctions against Russia, imposing tariffs of up to 500% on countries purchasing Russian energy. China, which imports nearly half of its oil from Russia, now faces the potential loss of yet another major source of cheap energy. If China simultaneously loses oil supplies from Iran, Russia, and Venezuela, its energy imports will shrink dramatically. Analysts warn that Beijing could lose up to 70% of its non-U.S.-controlled oil supply, triggering inflation, GDP contraction, and rising unemployment. Trump's preemptive chokehold strategy has become a key bargaining chip in global power competition. Cutting off strategic resources not only weakens China's economy but directly constrains its ability to wage war in the Taiwan Strait. Another CCP ally, Cuba, is also on the brink of collapse as oil supplies are threatened, further shrinking Beijing's network of partners. The world now stands at a historic crossroads. The alliance of authoritarian regimes that once challenged the post-World War II order is being hollowed out from within and strangled from without. Trump's actions are accelerating this process, making the end of that alliance increasingly visible. If the CCP continues to ignore these warnings and chooses to gamble on war in the Taiwan Strait, the next consequence may well be its own collapse. China's economic collapse is shocking. The year-end is hard to survive. Cries of distress everywhere. More and more Chinese people are being forced to confront a bitter reality. They can no longer find a way to survive. As the Lunar New Year approaches, instead of scenes of preparation and reunion, many cities are witnessing people quietly leaving. Returning home is their only remaining option. On streets, in commercial districts, wholesale markets and shopping malls, foot traffic has thinned to an abnormal degree. Even on weekends, traditionally the busiest time of the year. In the freezing winter, with temperatures in many places already below zero, some people are still forced to live stream outdoors just to make a living. Behind what is called the live stream economy are exhausted workers standing in the cold wind, trading hours of physical strain for a few dozen yuan. Many warn one another. Don't come to Guangzhou anymore. The economy can no longer hold up. Numerous bosses have fled. Factories have shut down. Vehicles are being sold off and the car rental business is facing waves of collapse. The year-end market, once the peak season for orders and deliveries, has turned bleak. One man searching for factory space visited five sites in a single afternoon. Almost all were closed, undone by vanished orders, unrecoverable payments and broken cash flows. He said bluntly that the shared feeling was simple. We can't go on anymore. A heaviness so deep it was hard to put into words. At the level of ordinary workers, personal stories reveal the depth of the impasse. A 37-year-old man lost his job just before the new year, yet still has a monthly mortgage payment of 6,000 yuan. He asks himself how he is supposed to survive the holiday without work. Some people have gone days without food, sleeping temporarily in public spaces. Others left their hometowns to work on construction sites, only to find the contractor had disappeared, wages unpaid. They dare not demand what they are owed and no longer even have money to return home. At the same time, society has entered what many call the era of universal food delivery. Young people, young women, middle-aged women, all are delivering orders. In some cases, young couples work together. The man rides the scooter, the woman gets off to deliver the food. One freight driver traveled more than 60 kilometers, taking over two hours for a fee of 78 yuan. After subtracting 30 yuan for fixing a punctured tire, 6 yuan for a meal and 12 yuan for charging his vehicle, there was virtually no income left. He said that even running from morning until night, he can earn at most about 200 yuan a day while his entire family depends on that money. One person decided to test a saying circulating online that in Henan province, not a single plastic bottle or cardboard box can make it directly from a trash bin to a recycling station. In the most prosperous commercial district of a city in Henan, on a Saturday, he brought a bag, expecting to collect bottles and boxes. After more than an hour, even after deliberately going out at night in the bitter cold, the result was still nothing. The reason was simple. Trash bins are rummaged through up to eight times a day. Even scavenging for recyclables as a means of survival is no longer an option. The crisis has not spared the educated middle-aged. A man born in 1988 described meeting two former university classmates. All three men were unemployed. One had been out of work for over a year, another since August last year, and the third had just been laid off the previous month. They joked bitterly that after 35, no matter what industry you're in, the probability of being eliminated is extremely high, and that their ultimate destination might be competing in a triathlon just to survive. In everyday life, the signs of consumption downgrade are stark. Haircuts once cost 39 to 59 yuan, with senior stylists charging extra. Before the new year, perms cost 199 yuan, dye jobs another 199, with a single haircut easily costing several hundred yuan. Now, many places charge just 10 yuan, from street shops to stalls inside subway stations. People openly acknowledge that consumption has clearly been downgraded. Meanwhile, official statistics still claim unemployment is very low. But ordinary people understand the truth. Not having a job does not mean being unemployed. Rural residents, even without income and even without enough food, are not counted in unemployment statistics. In other words, a large segment of the population does not even qualify to be recognized as unemployed. Under these survival pressures, many are forced into what can only be described as coerced minimalism. Hair is not cut, left long and tied with cheap elastic bands. When it grows long enough, it is sold for cash, then grown again. Accessories and jewelry are eliminated entirely. Shoes are worn until they are completely destroyed. One bag is used for every occasion. Snacks are cut out altogether. Only essential ingredients for three daily meals are purchased. And only after existing supplies are exhausted. No stockpiling, no waste. Vegetables are bought in the smallest possible quantities, calculated down to each yuan. Social interaction is minimized. No gatherings, no treating others. Electronic devices are used until they break. Some even say that if they dare to spend recklessly again, they will sell their smartphones and switch to elderly phones with only calling functions. Behind these numbers and harsh choices lie silent personal shocks. One person received news that his younger brother had died suddenly after prolonged overwork, day-night reversal and physical collapse. Alive in the morning, gone by the afternoon. Such losses force many to realize that this crisis is no longer just about money, but is cutting into the very lives and bodies of people. What is unfolding is no longer a short-term difficulty. It is the sense that the path to survival is steadily narrowing. That people are forced to strangle their own needs simply to stay alive, while the future remains obscured. This is not merely an economic downturn, but a prolonged crisis of everyday life, pushing ever more Chinese people to the very edge of endurance. Zhang Xiaojun's downfall confirmed, Xi Jinping scared out of his wits. Only about two weeks have passed since the start of 2026, yet Venezuela and Iran have already undergone decisive upheavals. Within the Chinese diaspora, these events were immediately placed alongside China. When Nicolas Maduro and his wife were taken into U.S. custody, when the Kamine family transferred $1.5 billion to Dubai, the association with the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping came almost instinctively. The real question no longer lies with outside observers, but with Xi Jinping himself. Did he connect these events to his own fate? The answer is yes. And the person most deeply shaken by these developments is Xi Jinping. When one creature is harmed, others of its kind feel the pain. When the rabbit dies, the fox grieves. His state of mind is not difficult to imagine. The United States and Israel have repeatedly employed the strategy of letting the leader go first. And this has struck directly at Xi Jinping's core fear. It has forced him to confront a reality he can no longer evade. If he truly moves against Taiwan, if he truly confronts the United States head-on, he will be no different from Maduro or Kamine, unwilling yet compelled to become a lone warrior. The CCP has long preached the shift from, you go forward, to follow me forward. The question now is simple. Does Xi Jinping dare to shout those words himself? This pressure was clearly visible at the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection plenary session. Xi Jinping appeared exhausted, his spirit visibly drained, eyes dull, voice weak. Every aspect of his demeanor suggested a man being worn down by sustained psychological strain. At the venue itself, a soldier was so drowsy that he audibly snored during Xi's speech, producing a scene that was both ironic and highly symbolic. More importantly, Xi Jinping exposed his greatest fear in that very speech. It was not Taiwan nor the United States. It was the question of whether there were people around him who were two-faced, those who harbor divided loyalties and whose words and actions do not align. Put plainly, it was the fear of American eyes and ears embedded within his inner circle. This fear is far from groundless. After Israel demonstrated the overwhelming effectiveness of intelligence warfare and leadership decapitation, the CIA openly began recruiting informants in China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea. The subsequent arrest of Maduro was later confirmed by Trump himself to have resulted from the successful placement of an informant directly beside him, allowing the United States to track his every move. Before the game even began, Maduro had already become a dead peace. Against this backdrop, the disappearance of Zhang Xiaojun, once Xi Jinping's top military secretary, from the latest CCDI plenary session carries unmistakable significance. The handling of Zhang Xiaojun unfolded from April 2024 to October 2025 following the removal from the center of power, demotion, and eventual erasure. Zhang Xiaojun was a core figure within the Miao-Hua-Hui-Dong network, part of the so-called Fujian faction in the military, once considered Xi Jinping's most loyal base. Now this very group has become a primary target of purge. Senior officers have vanished, been investigated, expelled, and stripped of rank. The military has descended into mutual suspicion, denunciation, and internal struggle. Yet even as the armed forces are being torn apart from within, the CCP continues to loudly proclaim its intent to attack Taiwan. A military consumed by internal purges, where face-to-face struggle and back-to-back denunciation have become the norm, raises an obvious question when it actually reaches the battlefield, will it fight the enemy, or will it end up shooting itself? The final message of this report is unambiguous. This power machine is grinding down those who serve it. Loyalty offers no protection. Silence brings no safety. One day when Chinese soldiers truly awaken, they will understand that there is only one path to real security. To summon the courage to smash this meat grinder, and for themselves and for the nation, to stand once as warriors who hold their heads high between heaven and earth. Your feedback matters. Share your views in the comments. If this content resonated with you, we invite you to share it with your network. Your continued support empowers us to pursue independent, high-quality journalism. Subscribe and like to stay up to date with Decoding China. Thank you for watching.