PAF is still looking forward to buying the J10( F10 maybe the name for the exported version)

http://www.dawn.com/2006/02/24/welcome.htm

President describes China visit ‘very important’, to boost multi-faceted ties Feb 24 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf Thursday described his visit to China as very important and said his ‘substantive and positive’ interaction with the Chinese leadership would boost ties in political, economic and defence fields. “The visit is very important in terms of timings and substance in the wake of changing strategic situation in the world,” he told reporters while flying back home after a five-day state visit to China. Musharraf said he had substantive interaction with the Chinese leadership that covered all areas including political, economic, diplomatic, defence, continuing cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and regional and international issues. “There was a complete understanding on all issues we discussed and there has been a very positive response,” he said while referring to his one-on-one meeting with President Hu Jintao. Responding to a question, the President said that Pakistan and China had always been collaborating in the defence field. “Defence relations have been the bedrock of Sino-Pak relations.” China, he added, had been giving a lot of transfer of technology “because of which collaboration has been going on for decades”. The President said the Chinese government also showed their hi-tech F-10 that is comparable with any modern aircraft. ‘We are very favourably disposed toward this aircraft,” he added. Answering another question he said Chinese investors have shown interest in various sectors including automobile, energy, textile etc. adding that in the automobile sector, several world renowned companies were heading to Pakistan in a big way. Referring to the cartoon controversy the President rejected the excuse of freedom of press for the publication of these blasphemous images which, he added, would encourage notion of clash of civilizations. “It has taken the freedom of press to its worst limit,” he added. About the unresolved political disputes including Palestine and Kashmir, he said these were the root cause of extremism and terrorism and must be addressed. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)

Now I more and more think the concerned plane should be FC-1 TP4:

1). FC-1’s ejection-seat indeed is different from that of J10. the J10’s ejection-seat doesn’t have the handle on top of the ejection-seat in the picture.

2). There’re plenty of brand new J10s in service, why ask a president to inspect a semi-finished fighter?

3). The FC-1 TP4 is scheduled to have its maiden flight in March as my previous post said. So, it could be the FC-1 TP4 still waiting for final painting job etc

Nice shots!

It’s remarkable that the Chinese host unprecedentedly showcases J10 to a foreign head of state . What hint is there? We can’t totally rule out the J10 will be eventually exportable. PAF likely will be the 1st recipient.

For PAF, the J10 option will be the strongest bargaining chip to secure their best F16 offer from Washington. In the political playground, playing the China card will always lure Washington to put aside their pure profit interests in their commercial deals 1st and into a situation on how to deter the existence of the J10s in the sub-continent.

Bangladesh signs deal to buy fighter jets from China

It might not be beyound the relm of possibility that the prototype FC1-04 will make its ‘first flight’ on the day Musharraf visits the factory. If we are lucky, we may get the first decent pics of 04 then.

Don’t worry, our “site reporters” already well positioned aaround the airport attached to the No132 factory which manufactures J10 and FC-1. They will give us 1st hand coverage on what’s going on inside the wall and beyond. 😀 😀

Sorry, I know more about refining than you think you do.

Oh, is it?, the moment you made the comment “Venezuelan crude oil has a very high sulfur content. High sulfur fuels tremendously increase air pollution. ” , the moment I know how much you know about the petroleum industry.

Ever heard Euro-4 start implementing in 2005? And ever know what the sulfur level is in a Euro-4 complied Diesel fuel? If you know that the sulfur level would be something like in ppm, you will immediately draw the conclusion even the traditional refineries have to undergo some sort of additional desulfurizing process, in regardless to what source of crude they are using, high sulfur or low ( dirty or not in your term). Emission level is linked to what emission standard your home nation applying, not link to what crude your refinery are refining.

It is far from easy to set up a refinery to use high sulfur Venezuelan crude. To be sure, China could accomplish the task, but it would take 2-5 years and a very large and uneconomic investment.

Partially yes, but the fact is China is doing this without any fanfare and is economic:

China’s $3 Bln Refinery Expansion May Cut Costs, Boost Profits

…

China Petroleum, PetroChina and West Pacific Petrochemical Co., a venture between Total SA, PetroChina and chemical trader Sinochem Corp., are building at least 10 sulfur-reducing units known as hydrocrackers and cokers.

The plants are scheduled to begin operation in the next two years, Purvin & Gertz, an energy consultant, said in an e-mail. The new units would have the capacity to process about 330,000 barrels of oil a day.

“The need for cokers, hydrocrackers and visbreakers is from both the Chinese side and the Arabian Gulf producers’ side,” Kuwait Petroleum’s al-Nouri said.

Refiners can boost profits by building the refinery units to maximize gasoline and diesel output. A hydrocracker can boost the profit from refining a barrel of crude oil by as much as 20 cents a barrel, according to consultant Aspen Technology Inc.

A shortage of capacity to refine sour crude and soaring demand for gasoline and diesel boosted the premium for low-sulfur varieties such as Brent to as much as $15.10 a barrel on Oct. 26. Heavy, sour varieties include Dubai, the Asian benchmark, and Saudi Arabia’s Arab Heavy.

Dubai crude oil was 23 percent lower than Malaysia’s Asian benchmark Tapis and 15 percent cheaper than Europe’s benchmark Brent last year. Dubai crude oil for July traded at a discount of $5.09 a barrel to Brent on June 17, according to data provided by oil broker Amerex Petroleum Pte.

Most oil sold by African producers is priced in relation to Brent crude oil, which is more expensive than Dubai, pumped in the United Arab Emirates.

China Petroleum & Chemical, or Sinopec, will boost imports of high-sulfur crude this year by 23 percent to 34 million metric tons, the Chinese State Council’s State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said on April 13. Sinopec bought 27.64 million tons of high-sulfur crude oil last year.

Shipment of Venezuelan crude to China is a bigger problem. It would require either a very large fleet of small, uneconomical PANAMAX sized tankers or a pipeline across Columbia

Yep, just as one gentlman already posted, the pipeline is underway.

See the fin in red color?

Well, the caption suggests it’s a LACM