China supplies Russia with weapons and military equipment during large-scale war with Ukraine

Politico reported the information.

The deliveries took place between June and December 2022. In June 2022, China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, one of the country's largest state defense contractors, sent rifles to the Russian company Techkrim, which also does business with the Russian state and military.

The CQ-A rifles, which are modeled after the M16 but are labeled as "civilian hunting rifles" in the data, are used by paramilitary police in China and armed forces from the Philippines to South Sudan and Paraguay.

Politico reports that at the end of 2022, Russian organizations also received 12 batches of drone parts from Chinese companies and more than 12 tons of Chinese bulletproof vests through Turkey. This is the first confirmation that China is sending rifles and body armor to Russian companies.

"China is supplying Russian companies with previously unreported “dual-use” equipment — commercial items that could also be used on the battlefield in Ukraine," the article says.

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. This company is already under US sanctions. For months, Russia has relied on other countries, including China, for navigation equipment, satellite imagery, vehicle components, and other raw materials.

Last December, Russia managed to import more than 800 tons of bulletproof vests worth about USD 10 million. These bulletproof vests were manufactured 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 bulletproof vests from China's Xinxing Guangzhou Import & Export Co.

Trade data also show that Russia's state defense company Rosoboronexport has been importing microchips, thermal imagers, and spare parts such as a gas turbine engine from countries ranging from China to Serbia to Myanmar since 2022.