To China, or to many other countries that don't need to do "global attacking", the requirements can be lowered down and still be able to hold its ground against F22.
Exactly china doesn't need an F-22 equivalent to shoot down another F-22. The chinesse dont even have to aim as high as being able to shoot down F-22's, they just need the ability to reach the level of the Navy JSF and Super hornet.
If you took an aircraft in the class of a Saab Gripen and made it using the best stealth techniques possible and acheived a radar cross section equal to that of a F-22 then it would be BIG trouble to the US.
China doesn't need advanced communication to link its fighters into a network. A Chinesse interceptor would need only two internal medium range missiles which could be applied on a very small aircraft. Remember if you have an airforce with 1000 aircraft (china) and an airforce with 100 advanced aircraft (USA) and they go head to head, then the advanced aircraft needs to carry 10 times as many missiles just in case.
Engine performance of the Chinesse aircraft doesn't matter, information display doesn't matter, all it needs is excellent stealth and a decent radar or even loose the radar completely and go with passive Infrared. These features in a Mig-21 size aircraft would mean big trouble to the US as China could make over 1000 of these aircraft. This would provide a wall preventing all JSF's and Bomber aircraft from entering Chinesse airspace.
All china needs is an aircraft that cannot be easily picked off at beyond vision range by F-22's. You dont even need the ability to pull 9G, a modified F-117 would be fine. As long its stealthy enough so that the F-22 can only detect the chinesse aircraft at say 50miles and the chinesse aircraft detects the F-22 at 40miles. The Chinesse will never be able to match the US when it comes to radar, it will be lucky to ever have a radar that is half as powerful. As the F-22 produces considerable heat when supercruising IR is probably the best way to go, combined with a stealthy aircraft so you can get close enough to an F-22 so that it doesn't see you first. The two air to air missiles could use the same IR tracking, so radar is not used at all.
This same small aircraft you could replace the two medium range air to air missile with an air to ground version giving 100+ mile standoff range. Better yet the air to missile can also attack ground targets. US navy would be shitting themselves as by the time they detect the chinesse aircraft that would be the indication that they just released their missile and its on their way. Again the navy ships could be located using IR from relatively far away, then the missile itself tracks that same boat using autonomus passive tracking allowing the Chinesse aircraft to turn around while the a missile is launched.
The potential threat of a wave of 30 of these aircraft would be enough to have the carrier battle groups located very far off shore. Also the Navy would have to double the number of escorts for the E-2 hawkeye just in case it detects 30 aircraft at 100 miles and closing with only two super hornets protecting it. The superhornets would shoot down a few but then the 20 chinesse aircraft proceed to shoot down the hawkeye and then shooting the remaining missile at the US navy ships.
This is why its crucial that the USAF doubles or even tripples its F-22 order as its the only aircraft that the chinesse will never be able to match.
