When did the senior member say that? I do remember even a CATIC guy saying the same at an airshow about 4 years ago. So yes, there was a time it was not cleared for export then things moved forward.
Might also be a question of the particular subsystems and performance levels a customer is/was...
J-10 was offered to Agentina. I believe for at least 2 years now it was announced by CATIC that J10 is cleared for export.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/chinese-fighter-jet-cleared-for-exports-116021800273_1.html...