"Exports of high-tech machine tools from China to Russia have skyrocketed since the invasion of Ukraine. According to Russian customs data, in July, Chinese manufacturers shipped $68 million worth of CNC machines, compared to only $6.5 million in February 2022, when Moscow launched a full-scale invasion" — Financial Times.
Olena Yurchenko, Advisor to the Economic Security Council of Ukraine, noted in the article: "It would be "almost impossible" to use a Chinese CNC machine at a plant that organizes its production processes on machines from another manufacturer with different specifications. Defense manufacturers' choice of CNC machines from other countries may also reflect skepticism about the quality of Chinese machines. "
Chinese suppliers now dominate the trade in CNC devices, which are vital to Moscow's military industry. Xi Jinping told Vladimir Putin in October that annual trade between the two countries had reached a "historic high" of nearly $200 billion.
Russia's imports of CNC machines from the EU have plummeted due to tighter restrictions since February 2022. Analysts argue that Moscow seeks to obtain these tools from sources that will not be limited by international control. They suggest that Russia also received significant amounts of CNC tools made in Taiwan and South Korea. In November, the United States imposed sanctions on all significant Russian importers of CNC tools, including some that had moved less than $200,000 worth of equipment after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Beijing emphasizes that it does not supply lethal weapons to Russia, but it also refuses to impose sanctions. Chinese shipments of goods, including oil, machinery, consumer goods, and automobiles, help to keep Russia's sanctions-hit economy going.
Michael Raska, an associate professor at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said the export of CNC machines is an example of how China and Russia are getting involved in a deepening military-industrial partnership. "China and Russia have the same political interest, which is to challenge and confront the United States," Raska said. "The fact is that Russia has been cut off from importing European equipment, and it has no choice but to rely on China."
It is not yet clear what exactly Russia is using the imported Chinese machines for. Analysts have not yet been able to unambiguously identify any of them by their use on social media or in propaganda footage taken at Russian high-tech military plants. The CNC machines depicted are still exclusively from suppliers in Europe, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan.
Other sources also support this thesis. For example, customs data show that SFT, a large and now sanctioned Russian importer of CNC machines, imported very few Chinese goods before July. A leaked internal document from CFT reveals that the company is a supplier to Russian defense manufacturers, including Aeroscan, which produces the Lancet kamikaze drone that has caused serious casualties to Ukrainian forces. CFT declined to comment on the matter.
Full article: Financial Times