According to media reports, China is secretly sending equipment to Russia that is used to equip the Russian military.
Despite public calls for an end to the war in Ukraine, China has been actively ramping up trade in dual-use goods with Russia, helping the country import sanctioned Western technology.
According to customs records obtained by Politico, Russian buyers have placed orders for hundreds of thousands of body armor and helmets manufactured by Shanghai H Win — the items in the documents match those in the company’s online catalog.
China sold drones to Russia for $100 million
In addition, this year Russia imported drones worth more than $100 million from China – 30 times more than Ukraine. And Chinese exports to Russia of ceramics, a component used in body armor, rose 69% to more than $225 million, while to Ukraine it fell 61% to just $5 million, according to Chinese and Ukrainian customs data.
Chinese dual-use goods are often imported into Russia through shell companies set up to conceal trading activities.
One such company, Silva, is based in the remote East Siberian region of Buryatia. Statements filed in January this year detailing orders for 100,000 body armor and 100,000 helmets from Shanghai H Win.
As for drones, Chinese manufacturer DJI says it has cut ties with Russia and is actively preventing its products from being used in combat operations. However, Politico managed to sign a contract between Chinese company Iflight and Russia to supply DJI drones in October 2022 through another company in Hong Kong.
Weakness in Western Sanctions
As we read in the material, the ambiguity over the dual-use status of this equipment, coupled with the fact that much of it is manufactured in China, demonstrates the weakness of the Western sanctions regime.
Last week, an adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, Emmanuel Bonne, said Paris is aware that some facts may point to China’s aid to Russia in its war with Ukraine.
Source: Do Rzeczy
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
