Editor’s Note
In May 2025, we published verification information on social media regarding the video “China’s Y-20 Cargo Aircraft delivering supplies to Pakistan.” We have now reorganized and integrated the original content into this long-form report.
Claim:
A video circulating on TikTok claims that China’s Y-20 cargo aircraft delivered relief supplies to Pakistan.
Fact Check:
A reverse image search of seven key frames from the TikTok video reveals the following:
- Frame 1 originated from TikTok account “1china1china2,” which reposted a video from Chinese Douyin user “小帅航拍 (Xiao Shuai Hang Pai),” as traced with the help of two watermarks. The original Douyin video, posted on April 25, 2025, says the video was filmed at the Airshow China in Zhuhai, in Guangdong Province, showcasing China’s YY-20 tanker aircraft, and not the Y-20. Comparison with official imagery from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) account confirms this frame indeed is showing a YY-20.
(Frame 1 from the TikTok video)
(Screenshot of the original Douyin video)
- Frames 2, 3 and 7 were sourced from a military program aired by China Media Group on March 6, 2023, with no connection to relief efforts to Pakistan.
(Frame 2 from the TikTok video)
(Screenshot of the China Media Group military program)
(Frame 3 from the TikTok video)
(Screenshot of the China Media Group military program)
(Frame 7 from the TikTok video)
(Screenshot of the China Media Group military program)
- Frame 4 matches footage from a Chinese Air Force training video released on March 10, 2020 with no relation to relief operations.
(Frame 4 from the TikTok video)
(Screenshot of the Chinese Air Force training video)
- Frames 5 and 6 depict a September 16, 2022, mission where a Y-20 military transport aircraft, escorted by two Chinese J-20 stealth fighter jets, carried the remains of 88 Chinese soldiers killed in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea back to China from the Republic of Korea. This is verified by China Media Group’s evening news bulletin “Xinwen Lianbo” and a documentary titled “Cornerstone of a Great Nation.”
(Frame 5 from the TikTok video)
(Screenshot of CMG’s documentary)
(Frame 6 from the TikTok video)
(Screenshot of CMG’s documentary)
(Screenshot of CMG’s Xinwen Lianbo)
- On May 11, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force issued a statementdebunking the claim that the Y-20 delivered relief supplies to Pakistan, noting that creating and spreading military-related rumors bears legal responsibility.
Verdict:
The TikTok video’s claim that China’s Y-20 delivered relief supplies to Pakistan is False. The video cobbles together unrelated footage, primarily of the YY-20 and other non-relief operations, to create a misleading narrative. The PLA’s official statement further confirms the inaccuracy of the claim.
Have a questionable video or claim? Submit it to Fact Hunter’s investigation team at [therealfacthunter@outlook.com].
Fact Checker:Ma Xianzhi
