Customs data filed as recently as August point to how Beijing is continuing to supply goods to Moscow that are used on the battlefield, including drones, helmets, vests and radios, new analysis by CNBC shows.
Ballooning business ties
Drones produced by Chinese multinational SZ DJI Technology were registered in Russia in unspecified volumes on various occasions from September 2022 to January — with imports stemming both directly from the company and indirectly from Chinese exporters, including Shenzhen-based Autel Robotics and Iflight Technology — translated filings show.
Another importer, Moscow-based Vodukh, also registered an unspecified number of lithium ion and lithium polymer batteries and an unknown number of battery stations directly from DJI in November 2022 and this July, according to the records. Such items can be used to power goods ranging from small electronic devices to electric vehicles.
“They also started running out of cruise missiles. Their stocks were pretty much exhausted within the first six months or so, so they’ve been able to manufacture additional cruise missiles with components provided by the Chinese,” he added. However, analysts said the irregular import patterns suggest there is opportunism among businesses on both sides as they seek to take advantage of Moscow’s military needs.
Hmaidi cited another example of a Hong Kong company, established in 2020, which used to supply North Korea and has now added Russia to its books. Pyongyang, for its part, has been strengthening ties with Moscow, with the countries’ leaders meeting in Russia’s far eastern Amur region “Excavators and front-end shovel loaders are one of the most significant and frankly underappreciated aspects of China’s engagement with the war in Ukraine,” said Webster, who has studied the surge in such exports.
In June, a video featuring the head of Russia’s Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, was shared on his official Telegram social media account. In it, he showcases various armored vehicles, including armored personnel carriers that appear to be Chinese Tiger vehicles, that he said were being deployed to Russia’s so-called special military operation in Ukraine.
When asked for comment on the intelligence report and the trade of dual-use goods, China’s commerce ministry referred CNBC to its response in May to a similar question, in which it said its trading relationship with Russia was based on “mutual respect and mutual benefit, in which both win.” The White House’s National Security Council did not respond to a request for comment on the trade flows.
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