And this is why I laugh at you ya-hoos...
The question is not that somehow China is 'obligated' or 'owe' the world any proof. The question is about the validity and efficacy of a weapons system to do what its customer want.
Based on my civilian experience in designing radar field tests for airborne detection, I have already explained the necessity of conducting rigged tests when people were laughing at US for conducting rigged missile tests. No one laughs any more. Certain steps and criteria are universal, whether it be in the military or the civilian sector: Control of variables.
Rigged tests are essentially controls of variables. You do not design a car from the start. You design the chassis, or specifically what kind a frame is it, unibody or a true frame. You can find the list of available common chassis here...
5 Car Chassis Types | DoItYourself.com
Next you design the body that rests upon the chassis. Then you put them together and test the combination. You do not test it in the rain or snow or even on the road. You test for flex and crash integrity. The list goes on and on with each test literally rigged to include and exclude variables that are completely under your control. Then after a couple of years and a few
THOUSANDS of rigged tests, your car is finally ready for production.
No different for the DF-21D. Since it came from the DF-21 family, a proven vehicle, there would be no need to test flight characteristics. But because the warhead is conventional and there is a definite need to physically hit the target, that test on a concrete slab in the desert was performed. That was very much a rigged test because water was not included, specifically the ocean.
So if the mission is to hit a moving ship in open ocean, the final testing regime must include all variables. The most important variable -- the ocean. Next comes inclement weather. Next comes countermeasures from the target. Next comes the target under maneuvers.
Can China bypass all these and declare the DF-21D to be 'operational'? Absolutely. China can also enter a three-wheeled vehicle into a Formula One race if she wants.
Then in this intellectual battlefield, you guys lost -- badly. Without military experience, you guys are basically unarmed. What a turkey shoot and you can look up that phrase.