According to the publication, one of the companies cooperating with the Kremlin is associated with official Beijing. Journalists found out that military supplies passed through Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
Chinese military companies have sent Russian legal entities 1,000 machine guns and other equipment that can be used for military purposes, including parts for drones. On March 16, Politico writes about this, referring to customs data.
It is noted that one of the companies in question is associated with the Chinese government. According to journalists, the Chinese sent legal entities in the Russian Federation 1,000 machine guns and other equipment that can be used for military purposes, including drone parts and bulletproof vests. It is reported that deliveries were made between June and December 2022.
In particular, China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, one of the country’s largest state-owned defense contractors, shipped rifles in June 2022 to the Russian company Tekhkrim, which also does business with Russian government and military structures. Modeled after the M16 but labeled as “civilian hunting rifles” in the data, the CQ-A rifles are reportedly used by paramilitary police in China and various militaries from the Philippines to South Sudan and Paraguay.
According to the data, at the end of 2022, Russian enterprises also received 12 shipments of drone parts made by Chinese companies and more than 12 tons of Chinese body armor, which were shipped via Turkey.
Da-Jiang Innovations Science & Technology Co., also known as DJI, shipped drone parts, such as batteries and cameras, via the United Arab Emirates to a small Russian distributor in November and December 2022. DJI is a Chinese company that has been sanctioned by the US Treasury since 2021 for providing the PRC with drones to monitor the Uyghur minority in the western region of Xinjiang.
Last December, Russia managed to import more than 800 tons of bulletproof vests worth about $10 million. These bulletproof vests were produced by the Turkish company Ariteks and most of them were imported directly from Turkey, although some shipments arrived in Russia via the UAE. Russia also imported some body armor from the Chinese company Xinxing Guangzhou Import & Export Co.
The trade data also shows that the Russian state defense company Rosoboronexport has been importing microchips, thermal imaging devices and spare parts such as a gas turbine engine since 2022 from countries ranging from China to Serbia to Myanmar.
Is Russia using Chinese weapons in Ukraine?
According to Politico, while customs data does not show that Beijing is selling large quantities of weapons to Moscow specifically to assist in the war effort, it does show that China is supplying Russian companies with previously unregistered “dual-use” equipment – commercial goods that could also be used on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Recall, on March 16, it was reported that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba had a conversation about stopping aggression and restoring a just peace in Ukraine with a member of the State Council and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang. The Chinese side after the conversation once again noted the need for Ukraine and Russia to sit down at the negotiating table.
Earlier, on March 14, US President Joe Biden said he expected to speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping soon.
On March 13, the media reported that Chinese leader Xi Jinping would have a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the start of the Russian invasion.
