China helps Russia arm helicopters, drones and metals

Xi Jinping (left) met with Vladimir Putin several times, including a few weeks before the start of the war

China helps to arm Russia with helicopters, drones, optical sights and critical metals used by the defense industry, the Telegraph investigation showed.

Russian firms, including companies under sanctions that manufacture missile launchers, armored vehicles and strategic bombers, have received tens of thousands of shipments from China since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the first quarter of this year.

This is because China, which insists it remains neutral, is trying to position itself as a key broker in negotiations aimed at ending the conflict.

Trade between China and Russia will exceed $200 billion this year, a new record, even though China's exports to other countries have declined significantly.

Exports of goods with potential military uses more than tripled in the year ended June this year compared to the previous year, according to an analysis by the Observatory of Economic Complexity, a trade data visualizer.

Dual-Use Goods.

Such goods are classified as dual-use goods, meaning they also have a civilian purpose, allowing China to bypass international sanctions and claim it is only doing legal trade with Russia. China's support appears to be helping Russia weather sanctions, casting doubt on the effectiveness of a key part of the West's campaign against Moscow to cripple the Russian economy.

In two months, one Chinese company sent 1,000 drones to Russia. before the war, according to data compiled by Molfar Global, an open source research organization. The firm, Shantou Honghu Plastics, claims to be a wholesaler of children's toys on its website and social media profiles.

The drones were sent to a Russian firm called Samson, which also describes itself as a wholesaler of games and toys and, according to the public registry of companies, is a shell company with only 10,000 rubles in its capital.

Then , four days after the start of the war in Ukraine, the Chinese company Hems999 delivered two helicopters. Another Chinese firm, Tianjin Huarong Aviation, has donated four Airbus helicopters to Russia since the start of the war.

They were all received by the Russian firm Ural Helicopter, whose main customer is the Russian National Guard stationed in Ukraine and led by Viktor Zolotov, Putin's longtime bodyguard.

Chinese firms have also sent optical sights to more than 50 Russian companies from beginning of 2022 to the first quarter of the current year. Imports of these goods almost doubled last year and amounted to 2.5 million US dollars compared to the previous year.

Yiwu Wojie Optics Instrument accounts for most of the optical sights — about 2,500 — supplied to Russian firm CEK, which previously supplied such goods and night vision devices to the Russian Interior Ministry, according to data obtained by Molfar from Chinese trading company 52wmb. data aggregator.

Invoices indicate that such equipment is intended for «hunting», although the devices can be adapted to military weapons and provide improved vision for military operations.

Russian imports of raw materials are growing

Chinese exports of turbojet engines and radar missile navigation systems were also routed through India and Costa Rica before being re-exported to Russia, according to the Molfar study, in an apparent attempt to avoid sanctions.

According to trade data, Russia's imports of raw materials and components vital to armaments production has skyrocketed.

China exported $18 million worth of titanium alloy products to Russia in 2022, almost double the amount from a year earlier.

Lightweight and heat-resistant titanium alloys are a key material used for the production of military aircraft and weapons.

Titanium plates and rods were sent from China to NPP Start, a developer of launchers for anti-aircraft missile systems, which is part of a defense conglomerate Rostec.

Titanium products are also sent to S7 Technics, which performs aircraft maintenance. and repairs, as well as doing work for an organization that oversees the air transport of Putin and other Kremlin officials.

S7 is also working on the production of aircraft spare parts so that Russian airlines can keep their fleet operational after the cancellation sanctions. from the supply of Western-made components for Airbus and Boeing aircraft.

Chinese companies also sent shipments of magnesium alloys to Tupolev, which manufactures and helps maintain long-range bombers such as the Tu-95 and Tu-160M, which have been used to carry out cruise missile strikes against Ukraine.

0612 Tupolev Tu-95 < p>Companies associated with the production of KamAZ vehicles, whose armored personnel carriers, such as the KamAZ Typhoon, carry Russian troops and cargo, received at least 520 shipments from China.

The goods included spare parts, welding machines and laser machines, which can be used to produce weapons and military equipment.

The steel was shipped by China to Russian firms producing or manufacturing engines for KamAZ armored vehicles. vehicles. One of the largest Russian firms, Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, which cooperates in the production of KamAZ vehicles, was among those who received supplies and fell under US and Ukrainian sanctions.

Some Chinese firms, such as Wuxi Tianxing Steel and Xi'an Alpha Metal, even have offices in Moscow or company websites in Russian, making little effort to disguise their ties to the military by posting pictures of fighter jets and warships on their homepages.< /p>Backchannel trading

China may also supply raw materials to Russia through backchannels.

Beijing and Moscow reportedly held secret talks with Iran to supply perchlorate ammonium, a chemical compound used to launch ballistic missiles — the deal, if agreed, would likely be hidden from official trade registries.

Russia has not released trade data since the invasion began, although data from China, its main trading partner, indicates that Beijing has become a vital lifeline, even as Putin has been ostracized on the world stage and Western companies and countries have been torn apart. connections. with Moscow.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping met Putin several times, including in the weeks leading up to the war, but agreed to only one hour-long phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in April.

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Beijing issued a 12-point «peace statement» earlier this year, reformulating its position and offering no solutions to end the war.

China participated in the second round of peace talks in Saudi Arabia Arabia on August 6 after withdrawing from the first round earlier this year. He still refuses to call what is happening in Ukraine an «invasion».

None of the companies responded to The Telegraph's requests for comment. Some, such as CEK, could not be contacted.