Chinese companies, including one connected to the Beijing government, have sent Russian entities 1,000 assault rifles and other equipment that could be used for military purposes, including parts of drones and bulletproof vests, assured the American publication ‘Politician’.

The media specified that shipments were made between June and December 2022according to the data provided by ImportGenius, a customs data aggregator to which it has had access.

China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, one of the country’s largest state defense contractors, shipped the assault rifles in June 2022 to a Russian company called Tekhkrim that also does business with the Russian state and militaryhe added.

It has been reported that CQ-A rifles, inspired by the M16 but labeled “civilian hunting rifles” in customs dataare being used by paramilitary police in China and by armed forces from the Philippines to South Sudan and Paraguay, reported ‘Político’.

Russian entities also received 12 shipments of drone parts from Chinese companies and more than 12 tons of Chinese bulletproof vests, which passed through Turkey, by the end of 2022, according to the information.

Although customs data they do not show that Beijing is selling a large number of weapons to Moscow specifically, the magazine clarifies, it reveals that China is supplying Russian companies with “dual-use” equipment and trade items that could also be used on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Da-Jiang Innovations Science & Technology Co., also known as DJI, shipped drone parts, such as batteries and cameras, across the United Arab Emirates to a small Russian distributor in November and December 2022, according to the US outlet.

DJI is a Chinese company that has been under US surveillance after being sanctioned by the Treasury Department in 2021 for providing the Chinese state with drones to control the Uyghur minority in the western region of Xinjiang.

In addition to drones, Russia has for months relied on other countries, including China, for navigation equipment, satellite imagery, vehicle components and other raw materials to help prop up the war that President Vladimir Putin started over a year ago against Ukraine.

Although Western sanctions have hampered Moscow’s ability to import goods from microchips to tear gas, Russia can still buy supplies to support its war effort from “friendly” countries that don’t follow the new Western rules, such as China or the countries of the West. Gulf, added the medium.