China Aids Russia’s War in Ukraine: Reports

A BM-21 'Grad' multiple rocket launcher fires at Russian positions in Kharkiv region on Oct. 4, 2022. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images

Recent reports show that the Chinese communist regime is providing technology to Russia for its war in Ukraine, despite international sanctions and export controls.

According to a Wall Street Journal review of Russian customs data on Feb. 4, Chinese state-owned defense companies have been “shipping navigation equipment, jamming technology and jet-fighter parts to sanctioned Russian government-owned defense companies.” Meanwhile, both state-owned and private Chinese companies are exporting military and civilian dual-use goods to Russia, the review shows.

The WSJ review analyzed more than 84,000 shipments recorded by Russia’s customs office since the West launched economic sanctions on Russia last year, especially on goods that are critical to Russia’s military.

Russian customs records that WSJ reviewed include details of each shipment into the country, such as dates, shippers, recipients, purchasers, addresses, and product descriptions. These might be just the tip of the iceberg, as the review pointed out that records might not include all records of shipments.

Emergency workers clear the rubble after a Russian rocket hit a multistory building leaving many people under debris in the southeastern city of Dnipro, Ukraine, on Jan. 14, 2023. Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo

It has been nearly a year since the Russo–Ukrainian war started. Despite the sanctions, Russia is still able to obtain the technologies for its military, including semiconductors, through countries that haven’t joined the U.S.-led export controls such as Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and China, as the WSJ’s review of customs and corporate records show.

The report cited an analyst from NGO C4ADS who pointed out that “Chinese state-owned defense companies continue to send military-applicable parts to sanctioned Russian defense companies. These Russian companies have been recorded using these same types of parts directly in Russia’s war in Ukraine.”

A spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy to the United States denied “China provides ‘aid’ to Russia.”

Semiconductors From China and Hong Kong

Semiconductors, also known as chips, are used in missiles and drones.

Other international media have reported that millions of chips made in the Netherlands have flowed to Russia through Chinese and Hong Kong companies to evade sanctions.

According to the Institute of International Finance (IIF), Russia’s semiconductor purchases totaled $2.45 billion between January and September last year, much higher than the previous year’s $1.8 billion. Forty percent of the purchase were from China and Hong Kong.

A view of a lens used in the the manufacturing of semiconductor circuits at ASML, a Dutch company that was the largest supplier in the world of semiconductor manufacturing machines via photolithography systems in Veldhoven, Netherlands, on April 17, 2018. Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images

The IIF said that China and Hong Kong have replaced European Union countries as Russia’s largest trading partners.

Dutch national broadcaster NOS reported that since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, millions of Dutch-made chips have been resold to Russia through Chinese companies.

U.S.-based current affairs commentator Wang He told The Epoch Times that the Chinese communist regime will continue its current policy, “which is not to publicly condemn Russia, meanwhile aid Russian in private. In its dealing with the United States, it will flatly deny that Chinese state-owned companies are acting on behalf of the Chinese regime.”

Su Tze-yun, director of the Taiwanese think tank The Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told The Epoch Times that the United States’ grand strategy in dealing with the relationship with China and Russia is to first continue to isolate Russia, and then concentrate on dealing with the Chinese communist regime. He predicted: “In March to April, the Ukrainian counterattack may bring the Russo-Ukrainian War to an end, which will be a turning point for the global political structure. At that time, major countries in the world will focus on encircling the Chinese regime, and their countermeasures against Beijing will increase.”

Hou Junlin, Lin Cenxin, and Yi Ru contributed to this report.