China helping to arm Russia with helicopters, drones and metals

China is helping to arm Russia with helicopters, drones, optical sights and crucial metals used by the defence industry, a Telegraph investigation has found.

Russian firms, including some sanctioned companies involved in the production of missile launchers, armoured vehicles, and even strategic bombers, have received tens of thousands of shipments from China since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

It comes as China, which insists it remains neutral, is attempting to position itself as a key peace broker in talks aimed at ending the conflict, The Telegraph reports.

Trade between China and Russia is set to surpass $200 billion this year, a new record high, even as Chinese exports to other countries have fallen significantly.

Dual-use goods

Such goods are classified as dual-use, meaning they also have civilian purposes, allowing China to skirt sanctions and claim that it conducts only legal trade with Russia.

Telegraph research found one Chinese drone exporter sent 1,000 units to Russia under the dual-use classification in the weeks before the war.

The drones were sent to a Russian firm called Samson, which describes itself as a wholesaler of children’s toys but – like many of the other firms involved in the import of dual-use products – appears to be a shell company, with only 10,000 rubles in capital to its name.

Similarly, China’s Shantou Honghu Plastics sent at least 1,000 drones to Russia in January and February last year, according to figures compiled by Molfar from 52wmb, a Chinese trade data aggregator.

Then, four days after war broke out in Ukraine, Chinese company Hems999 supplied two helicopters. Another Chinese firm, Tianjin Huarong Aviation, has transferred four Airbus helicopters to Russia since the war began.

All were received by Russian firm Ural Helicopter, whose primary customer is the Russian National Guard, deployed to Ukraine and led by Viktor Zolotov, a longtime bodyguard to Putin.

Chinese firms have also sent optical sights to more than 50 Russian companies from the start of 2022 through the first quarter of this year. Imports of these products nearly doubled to $2.5 million in 2022 compared to the year prior.

Yiwu Wojie Optics Instrument accounted for the majority of optical sights – about 2,500 – furnished to Russian firm CEK, which has previously supplied such goods and night vision equipment to the Russian internal affairs ministry, according to Molfar’s research.

Invoices state such equipment is for “hunting,” though the devices could easily be fitted to military weapons, and offer enhanced vision for military operations.

Russian imports of raw materials soar

Chinese exports of turbojets and radar missile navigation systems have also been sent via India and Costa Rica before being re-exported to Russia, according to records uncovered by Molfar, in an apparent effort to evade sanctions.

According to the trade data, Russia’s imports of raw materials and components vital for the manufacture of armaments have soared.

China exported $18 million of titanium alloy products to Russia in 2022, nearly double the year prior.

Lightweight and heat-resistant titanium alloys are a key material used to manufacture military aircraft and weapons.

Titanium plates and rods were shipped from China to NPP Start, a developer of air-defence missile launchers which is part of Russia’s Rostec defence conglomerate.

As war continued in Ukraine, Russia began obtaining metals and various alloys – key for producing aircraft and related components – in greater volume.

Titanium products have also been sent to S7 Technics, which performs aircraft maintenance and repair, and has done work for an organisation that oversees the air transport of Putin and other Kremlin officials.

S7 is also working to make aircraft spare parts so that Russian airlines can keep their fleets operational after sanctions cut off supplies of Western-made components for Airbus and Boeing planes.

Chinese companies also sent deliveries of exotic magnesium alloys to Tupolev, which builds and helps maintain long-range bombers like the Tu-95 and Tu-160M, which have been used to launch cruise missile attacks on Ukraine.

Companies linked to the production of Kamaz vehicles – whose armoured carriers, like the Kamaz Typhoon, transport Russian troops and cargo – have received at least 520 shipments from China.

Goods included spare parts, welding machines and laser machine tools that can be used for manufacturing weapons and military equipment.

Steel was sent by China to Russian firms involved in the production of, or make engines for, Kamaz armoured vehicles. One of Russia’s largest firms, Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works – which collaborates in making Kamaz vehicles – was amongst those receiving shipments, and has been sanctioned by the US and Ukraine.

Some of the 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 hide their military links, splashing pictures of fighter jets and naval ships on their homepages.

Trade through back channels

China may also be supplying raw materials to Russia through back channels.

Beijing and Moscow have reportedly held secret talks with Iran to supply ammonium perchlorate, a chemical compound used to propel ballistic missiles – a deal, if agreed, that would likely be hidden from official trade registers.

International sanctions, a crucial part of the West’s campaign against Moscow, are aimed at crippling Russia’s economy, making it more difficult for the country to obtain what it needs to function and fight, and to cut off potential sources of revenue.

Russia has not published trade data since the invasion began, though figures from China, its top trading partner, indicate that Beijing has become a crucial lifeline, even as Putin has become ostracised on the world stage, and both Western companies and countries have cut ties with Moscow.

Xi Jinping the Chinese leader, has met Putin several times, including in the weeks before war broke out, but only agreed to one hour-long phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, in April.

Beijing issued a 12-point “peace statement” earlier this year that rehashed its position and did not propose any solutions to ending the war.

Beijing participated in a second round of peace talks in Saudi Arabia on August 6, after opting against attending the first round earlier this year. It still refuses to describe what is happening in Ukraine as an “invasion”.