Politico: China supplied Russia with rifles, drone parts and body armor

Chinese companies, including one with ties to the Chinese government, have sent about 1,000 assault rifles and other equipment, including drone parts and body armor, to Russia. The deliveries were made between June and December 2022, the newspaper said. Politico with reference to trade data.

According to the newspaper, in June 2022, one of the largest contractors of the Chinese Ministry of Defense, China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, delivered CQ-A rifles modeled after the M16 to the Russian company Tekhkrim. The rifles were labeled “civilian hunting rifles” but are used by the armed forces of the Philippines, South Sudan and Paraguay and China’s paramilitary police, Politico notes. According to the newspaper, Tekhkrim cooperates with the Russian army and government.

Also, according to trade data, at the end of 2022, Russian companies received 12 batches of components for drones and more than 12 tons of body armor. They were delivered from China to Russia via Turkey and the UAE.

Politico writes that customs data proves that China is supplying Russia with previously unaccounted for dual-use goods that can be used during military operations in Ukraine. It is not known for certain whether the equipment purchased in China is used on the battlefield, the newspaper notes. Tekhkrim did not respond to the publication’s request.

According to Politico, the drones of the Chinese Da-Jiang Innovations Science & Technology Co. (DJI) have been spotted on the battlefield from the Russian side for several months now. According to trade data, DJI delivered cameras and drone batteries to the Russian company in November and December 2022.

the day before CNN also said that in the east of Ukraine, a Chinese Mugin-5 UAV was shot down, which arrived from the Russian military. Its manufacturer, Mugin Limited, confirmed to the TV channel that it was his own UAV and called the incident extremely unfortunate. CNN notes that in January, the LPR also claimed that they shot down Mugin-5 Ukrainian military.

Earlier, the United States said that China is supplying Russia with non-lethal military assistance and is considering sending weapons. The Chinese Foreign Ministry called the information about Chinese arms supplies to Russia speculation. In early March, the European Commission said that they had no evidence of Chinese arms supplies to Russia.

Read more about how the US is restraining China in China’s Non-Containment.

Olesya Pavlenko