China Stealth Jet Maker Walks Back Boast It Could ‘Take Out’ F-35

In early November, as President Xi Jinping hosted U.S. President Barack Obama in Beijing, China's military officials in the south of the country took the occasion to unveil China’s new stealth fighter jet, the J-31. The message, analysts say, was unmistakable: watch this, Yanks.
In an interview, manufacturer, AVIC CEO, told state media that “the J-31 can definitely take out the F-35 when it takes to the skies.”
Analysts have said the J-31 is similar to the F-35. There are allegations that the Chinese product was developed using information stolen from Lockheed and six sub-contractors.
It isn’t the first time a Chinese stealth jet program has met been accused of copying specs from a U.S. competitor. Analysts have said the J-20 looks an awful lot like the U.S. F-22 Raptor jet and suggested China likely learned some of its stealth technology from pieces its agents obtained of the wreckage of a U.S. F-117 shot down by a Serbian antiaircraft missile during the 1999 Kosovo war. Chinese officials have denied these claims.
blogs.wsj.com