This is how China is fooling the West, helping Russia acquire crucial microchips for advanced weapons

Moscow: The West has long been accusing China of helping Russia with state-of-the-art weaponry to be used against Ukraine, though the former has rejected it all. But, several reports have emerged that suggest that China may be supplying weapons and equipment to its all-weather friend Russia, though, in tortuous ways, to circumvent Western sanctions against the Kremlin.

China has reportedly been supplying commercial drone and drone parts to Russia, along with equipment such as body armour and rifles.

According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), “Such Chinese shipments are significant, however, because they could alleviate strain on the overextended Russian defense industrial base (DIB) and circumvent Western attempts to limit Russian access to microchips.”

“Meanwhile, the sale of even commercial drone parts to Russian entities could provide Russia’s DIB with access to valuable microchips vital to the production of sophisticated equipment, which Western sanctions have worked to prevent,” ISW added.

According to Western news agencies and outlets, Chinese commercial entities sold rifles, drone parts, and military equipment to unidentified Russian companies.

A report by Politico cited information provided by customs data aggregator ImportGenius as showing that Chinese companies sent around 1,000 assault rifles, 12 shipments of drone compoments, and over 12 tons of body armor to unspecified Russian entities between June and December last year.

CNN also reported that Ukrainian forces had shot down a retrofitted, weaponized commercial Mugin-5 drone produced by a Chinese commercial manufacturer on March 16.

Such Chinese shipments are crucial for Russia as they could help alleviate the load on the overworked Russian defense industrial base (DIB) and foil Western sanctions aimed at limiting Russia’s access to microchips.

The ISW believes that, not having observed any shortage in the supply and manufacture of Russian small arms, “The import of domestically available equipment from China likely enables the Russian DIB to transfer resources — most critically the limited number of skilled Russian defense plant workers — from the production of such goods to the production of military equipment for which Russia has a dire need.”

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