Basically, like much with Chinese aviation, it comes down to a matter of engines. Chinese have done very very well in terms of weapons, Electronics, EW, Radar etc. They have not mastered the art of fan blade metal technology in order to produce reliable, powerful and long lasting engines. This is the only think holding back Z-10 and even JF-17 (Still using Russian engines). West has deliberately kept this tech out of their hands, and are very sensitive about it. Even Rolls Royce which was due to help Turkey on it's own engines was told to hold back by UK Government. Basically only US, France, UK and Russia have mastered this, arguably even harder then making nuclear weapons.
Rest assured once China really masters this then there will be nothing holding them back to actually make the best jets and helicopters available. Imagine Z-10 and JF-17 with engines that have 50% more power and larger range. You can then hang all sorts of heavier and more deadly weaponry from them. Even their cruise missiles will increase in range massively.
While you are looking at the platform from a mechanical point of view, i am shedding light on the electronics and communication part of the platform. Chinese may have done well in the field of electronics but that can also assist PAA in procuring chinese equipment and installing it on any helicopter platform that Pakistani military wants, not just the platform (helicopter) itself.
I won't go into definition of Data Link, however its used for information sharing and is able to transfer large amount (bandwidth and throughput) of real time mission critical data such as videos and other statistics. All the functionalities for an ISR like SAR, X Band radar, E/O devices etc that i mentioned in Post # 92 will require Data Link.
At some stage, PA, PAF and PN might need a Common Data Link (CDL) otherwise a common interface for Link-16 and Link-17 to exchange information in real time. From an Army aviation point of view, Pakistan flies Chinese, European, Russian and American helicopters. The Data Link is not integrated on many machines that PAA flies. As an example consider Link-16 which can be utilised on American and European Helicopters. A-129 is able to utilise Link-16, so there are chances that T-129 will easily be able to integrate it, depending upon politics and further technology. However, would PAA choose to integrate Pakistan's own Link-17 on T-129 over Link16 ?
Next, does the mission capability of Mi-35 require a Data Link for carrying out sensitive operations be it Anti-terrorism or conventional ? If yes then, is Mi-35 also a candidate for integration of Data Link, say Link-17 ?
Similar case for Z-9EC operating for PN as well as the Westland Sea Kings. While ATR-72, P3-C, F-27 and Sea Kings maybe able to share information through Link-16, the Z-9EC again stands out.
UAV and UCAV are able to transfer and receive huge chunks of information through Data Link. They may have other ways of secure communication too for telemetry controls, which may not require a data link as not much bandwidth and through put is required for just controlling a UAV.
PAF's F-16, Erieye, C-130 etc can be data linked with PAA Gunships (e.g. T-129/AH-1Z) and ISR platforms (A bell series utility chopper) and all these can be data linked to PN Aerial Platforms like P3-C or Sea Kings. This is network centric warfare.