In 2008, aviation publishing house Jane's alleged that China's development of the Chengdu J-10 had benefited from technical information from the Lavi project, citing Russian engineers who claim to have heard this from Chinese colleagues.[36] In 2007, the J-10's designer, Song Wencong (宋文骢), denied any connection with the Lavi, pointing to similarities with the Chengdu J-9 developed in the 1960s.[37] This was echoed by PLAAF major Zhang Weigang in a 2012 interview.[38] There have been no public statements or formal claims along those lines; by 2000, however, advanced technology transfer of any origin had become anathema to the US,[39] which forced Israel to cancel a sale of Phalcon airborne early warning planes.