Have you hit your head?
China has building reverse engineered Soviet planes since the 70’s. China has been building heavy subs, destroyers, warships, etc longer for decades.
Iran hasn’t managed to build more than 20 refurbished F-5’s in 3 decades.
China has forced foreign companies to transfer tech, has stolen IP, and engaged in military espionage. Not to mention China is under zero sanctions and has zero trouble getting access to foreign tech. All the while it has the 2nd biggest miltary budget in the world.
Comparing China to Iran is like comparing NK to Iran. North Korea can never be Iran and Iran can never be China.
So stop the absurd comparisons.
It doesn’t matter if Iran could create a 5th gen fighter today, if you can’t make 100 or 200 of them then it’s as valuable as a rats fart now isn’t it?
Your claims doesn't make sense. No one talks about building destroyers, subs -these are technologies from 1950s. China in 70s was reverse engineering 3rd generation planes and built destroyers, heavy subs, but back then was unable to built Bavar-373 like air-defense system. Also unlike China, which tries to build a blue water navy,Iran as a regional country doesn't need heavy subs and large destroyers
We are talking about aerospace industry.
People were talking about China in 2000s the same way you talk about Iran today. Claiming they can barely copy Russian fighter and can't create truly indigenous 4th generation on their own and then in 2010 J-20 and J-31 was unveiled.
Even 15 years ago claiming that Iran can make Sejjil missile, Sayyad 2 missile, Soumar or Bavar 373 today would bring in someone like you who would claim it is impossible and that the best Iran can do is to copy North Korean Scud missile-Shahab 3 and cannibalize F-5 parts, and long range air defense system was claimed to be impossible to be made in Iran.
Now Iran, after sufficient efforts and investment, is in top countries producing air defense systems, UAVS and radars.
As for comparing NK to Iran, arrogant people like you missed how NK created a thermonuclear arsenal of 60 warheads and created an ICBM with 80 ton liquid fuel engine (claimed to be developed jointly with Iran)---before that people like you were talking about how backward is North Korea and Scud is the best they can make in 40 years.
Iran today is like China in 1995. If someone said in 1995 that in 15 years, in 2010 China will be ahead of Russia and will have J-20 and J-31 everybody would laugh.
Iran "wasn't able to build more than 20 refurbished F-5 in 3 decades", but now works on F-313 and Kowsar 88, builds advanced UAVs and advanced air defense systems and with sufficient efforts and with help from China Iran can turn F-313 into 5th generation fighter by 2035. And by 2040 it will enter serial production (don't know in what numbers)