WSJ: Chinese supplies drone factories in Iran, Russia despite sanctions

The open wartime marketing by a small Chinese company has underscored growing frustration in Washington over its difficulty in curbing the flow of so-called dual-use goods—items with both civilian and military applications—to rival states.

According to Chinese customs data, companies in China have been shipping hundreds of containers containing such goods to Russia and Iran. The shipments reportedly include a wide range of items, from engines and computer chips to fibre-optic cables and gyroscopes, the Wall Street Journal reports.

While some Chinese exporters previously mislabelled shipments to evade U.S. and European sanctions, former senior officials from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and weapons analysts say that, in many cases, companies are no longer taking such precautions.

Conflict Armament Research, which monitors weapons trafficking, said it has observed a “discernible increase” in the use of Chinese-manufactured components in Shahed-style drones.

At the same time, Ukrainian military analyses of Russian first-person-view quadcopter drones have revealed significant quantities of components sourced from China.

Customs data further suggests that Chinese firms are becoming increasingly open in trading drone-related parts, despite ongoing sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe.

In response, China’s Foreign Ministry said it has consistently enforced restrictions on exports of dual-use items “in accordance with its own laws and regulations and its international obligations.”

By Sabina Mammadli