China secretly helps equip Russian army

This is reported by Politico.

The media outlet reports that photos published on the website of the Chinese company Shanghai H Win show a Caucasian man inspecting bulletproof vests at the factory, and it is noted that he may be a Russian.

“This spring, one of our customers came to our company to confirm the style and quantity of bulletproof vests, and carefully tested the quality of our vests,” says the description to the photo, adding that the client later bought the equipment.

According to customs documents obtained by Politico, Russian buyers have declared orders for hundreds of thousands of bulletproof vests and helmets made by Shanghai H Win.

"Evidence of this kind shows that China, despite Beijing’s calls for peace, is pushing right up to a red line in delivering enough nonlethal, but militarily useful, equipment to Russia to have a material impact on President Vladimir Putin’s 17-month-old war on Ukraine," the publication says. 

Although Ukraine is also a client of China, the difference between our country's purchases and those of Russia is significant.

According to the publication, this year Russia imported over USD 100 million worth of drones from China, which is 30 times more than Ukraine. In addition, Chinese exports of a component used in body armor to Russia increased by 69%, while Ukraine's fell by 61%.

“What is very clear is that China, for all its claims that it is a neutral actor, is in fact supporting Russia’s positions in this war,” said Helena Legarda, a lead analyst specializing in Chinese defense and foreign policy at the Mercator Institute for China Studies, a Berlin think tank.

She believes that the EU may try to impose secondary sanctions, but they are unlikely to affect dual-use goods such as helmets and body armor.

Is the man in the photo Russian?

In turn, a representative of Shanghai H Win said that the company is not allowed to export directly to Russia and that documentary evidence of the end customer is required.

But when asked who the man in the photos was and where he was from, the representative denied that he was a client, despite the post on the website.

“He is our customer's customer. We cannot ask him directly, 'Where are you from?' But I guess maybe he is from Europe — maybe Ukraine, maybe Poland, even maybe from Russia. I'm not sure.”

Shortly after this conversation, Shanghai H Win removed the post featuring the mystery shopper from its website.

What Russian companies are buying in China?

The publication explains that customs declarations allow the end buyer to verify that the goods are genuine and, in fact, make it possible to import goods without the express consent of the manufacturer. If the goods are sold through an intermediary, the manufacturer may not even know that their goods are going to Russia. However, it is noted that the registry is searchable, so it is still easy to find the end buyers.

One such buyer is Silva, a company headquartered in Buryatia. In January of this year, the company filed declarations detailing orders for one hundred thousand bulletproof vests and the same number of helmets manufactured by Shanghai H Win. It is noted that the so-called Silva may be a "one-day" company, as evidenced by the documents.

Another Russian company, Rika, also declared a shipment of bulletproof vests from Shanghai H Win in March. Prior to that, in January, Rika declared a shipment of helmets from Deekon Shanghai, a company that shares an address with Shanghai H Win.

“We buy in Russia, not in China," Rika's representative comments to the publication.

The refutation is unlikely to be real: in addition to protective equipment, the declaration contains contracts for thermo-optical equipment from China worth USD 11 million.

Another Russian company, Legittelecom, also appears as a buyer of 100,000 units of hats and the same number of outerwear sets from Deekon Shanghai.

“This is a commercial activity and we do not disclose our commercial activities,” a company representative responded to Politico's request.

• French Foreign Policy Advisor Emmanuel Bonn explained whether the West has evidence that China is arming Russia in the war against Ukraine.