China has been caught sending weapons and armor to Russia

Chinese companies have been caught secretly supplying Vladimir Putin with assault rifles and body armor according to newly leaked data obtained by American media. 

Politico reporters Erin Bano and Sarah Anne Aarup revealed that Chinese companies shipped weapons and other pieces of vital equipment to “Russian entities” via Turkey and the United Arab Emirates between June and December 2022. 

“China North Industries Group… one of the country’s largest state-owned defense contractors, sent the rifles in June 2022 to a Russian company called Tekhkrim that also does business with the Russian state and military,” the journalist wrote. 

“The CQ-A rifles, modeled off of the M16 but tagged as ‘civilian hunting rifles’ in the data, have been reported to be in use by paramilitary police in China,” the journalists added.

Photo by Twitter @ShepherdClavis

Roughly 1000 rifles were shipped to Russia according to customs data that was obtained via ImportGenius according to Bano and Aaruo’s report. 

“Russian entities also received 12 shipments of drone parts by Chinese companies and over 12 tons of Chinese body armor, routed via Turkey, in late 2022,” the report added.

Photo by Twitter @verge

Bano and Aarup noted that the customs data they studied did not show China was supplying Russia with large amounts of weapons, but it did reveal something worrying. 

China has been supplying Russia with what Bano and Aarup called “dual use” equipment, essentially commercial items that could be used on the battlefield. 

“It is the first confirmation that China is sending rifles and body armor to Russian companies,” Bano and Aarup wrote.

Photo by Twitter @CalibreObscura

The customs data also showed that “drones and drone parts are still being sent despite promises from at least one company that said it would suspend business in Russia and Ukraine to ensure its products did not aid the war effort,” the journalists added. 

“It’s currently unclear if Russia is using any of the rifles included in the shipment data on the battlefield,” Bano and Aarup noted, adding that the Russian firm Tekhkrim did not respond when asked to comment about the journalist's findings. 

The news of Chinese companies supplying Russian companies with dual-use equipment comes on the heels of recent reports that China was considering supplying its Eurasian ally with lethal aid in order to help bring the conflict in Ukraine to a close. 

"We have seen them provide non-lethal support to Russia for use in Ukraine,” U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in an interview with Margaret Brennan on February 18th while discussing the growing possibility of lethal Chinese aid to Russia. 

“The concern that we have now is based on information we have that they're considering providing lethal support, and we've made very clear to them that that would cause a serious problem for us and in our relationship," Blinken added. 

On March 18th, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported that the U.S. government confirmed Chinese ammunition had been fired by Russian forces on battlefields in Ukraine.

"It's something that we are vigilant about and continuing to watch carefully," an anonymous U.S. State Department official told Kyodo, according to the news agency.