Despite having vowed to stay neutral, China has been anything but amid Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, having reportedly supplied helicopters, drones, and resources to Russian defense contractors.
China's claims to neutrality are unwound by the fact Russia's sanctioned defense industry has been getting nearly $200 billion in goods through trade this year, a record high, all while China's trade with other nations has fallen significantly, The Telegraph reported.
Among the sanctioned Russian companies to have received tens of thousands of shipments in supplies or materials in trade with China are manufacturers of missile launches, armored vehicles, and strategic bombers.
In the fiscal year ending in June, exports of goods potentially tied to military use more than tripled this year from last, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity.
Goods that have civilian uses are generally those China is able to export to Russia during the war, because they are less likely to raise red flags or violate West sanctions.
One paper trail reviewed by The Telegraph found 1,000 drones from a Chinese toy wholesaler shipped to Russia before the war. That receiving company, Samson, also claims to be a toy company, but appears to be a shell company, according to the report.
Also, the paper found, helicopters were shipped to Russia after Putin's invasion of Ukraine began.
Smaller items are even easier to hide from sanctions, including optical sights shipped under the guise of "hunting" use on invoices that were sent to around 50 Russian companies to the tune of $2.5 million last year, more than double the year before.
Titanium alloy shipments to Russia doubled those of the year prior, and there have been at least 520 China shipments to a Russian armored vehicle manufacturer, according to The Telegraph.
All of the companies reached by the paper declined to comment. Some could not be reached.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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