During the 17 months of the war, China sold Russians, in particular, body armor, optical sights for thermal imaging and drones. All this is used in the war against Ukraine. At the same time, the import of Chinese goods to Ukraine decreased sharply.
Politico writes about it.
This year, Russia imported over $100 million worth of drones from China — 30 times more than Ukraine. Also, China exported to Russia 69% more ceramics used in body armor — more than $225 million. Exports of Chinese ceramics to Ukraine fell by 61% — to only $5 million. This is evidenced by the data on Chinese and Ukrainian customs.
One of the Chinese companies that allegedly supplies Russia with goods is called Shanghai H Win. A photo published on the companyʼs website shows a tall man inspecting body armor at the plant. The caption to the photo says that this is a client of Shanghai H Win. Journalists assumed that this man is Russian.
A company representative stated Shanghai H Win is not allowed to export directly to Russia until the Chinese military issues a certificate and receives documentary evidence from the end customer. However, the company was unable to explain to journalists who it was, and later the photo of the mysterious customer disappeared from the Shanghai H Win website.
Journalists also learned that hundreds of thousands of bulletproof vests and helmets were purchased from Shanghai H Win by the Russian front company "Silva", registered in Buryatia. And the Russian company "Rika" purchased thermal imagers for $11 million.
Another Russian company Legittelecom purchased 100 000 helmets from Shanghai H Win and the same number of uniforms from Deekon Shanghai. The Positron company registered in Rostov, Russia, imported over $60 million worth of airsoft helmets, ceramics, and drones from the Chinese company Beijing KRNatural in November and December 2022.
- Russia can still supply numerous sanctioned goods through third countries. The import of semiconductors, integrated circuits, and other technologies from Kazakhstan, the UAE, Turkey, and China to Russia has recently increased sharply.
- At the end of January, Dutch journalists reported that microcircuits from Dutch companies, despite the sanctions, still ended up in Russia. They are delivered there through Chinese intermediaries.
- Before that, the administration of the President of the United States of America Joe Biden provided the Chinese government with evidence that China was helping Russia in the war with Ukraine.