I won't put too much faith on patent. If it is something really important that PLA want to keep secret, they won't publish it in a patent. Besides, nobody can make a patent to block PLA to use it or blackmail PLA to pay for it. The patent authority will simply not granting any such patent. In the US and Russia, registerring weapon patents may have a good reason because Boeing and LM are competitors, but in China there is only AVIC whose owner also owns the patent agency.
I have seen many catapult and arrestor gear patents including EM catapult by literally nobody (commoner in a village), but no patent by Ma Weiming, I don't think PLAN cares about patent.
About this CAC patent.
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I think it is very likely outcome
from an open design competition. It is orgnized by Aeronautic association of China, sponsered by CAC and included amateurs and Youths (teenagers). It is essentially a social-relationship afair, nothing serious.
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The following is the list of rewards. See the green highlighted one, the name in green is the patent owner. The name of his design indicated the two frontal nozzles. He got only 3rd grade reward. The four blue colored are all carrier fighters and recieved higher rewards. Even if this competition is serious, PLAN wouldn't have chosen the worse one. BTW, I highly doubt the thing of "STOVL is under tender competition", likely another over-interpretation.
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