Little-known Chinese companies are openly supplying Russia and Iran with dual-use goods—including engines and batteries that can be used in the assembly of Shahed-type attack drones. The Wall Street Journal reports.
According to Chinese customs data, local suppliers shipped hundreds of containers of dual-use products to Russia and Iran. Among the goods transported were fibre-optic cables, batteries, chips, gyroscopes, and Limbach L550 engines.
Chinese exports of fibre-optic cables rose sharply in the autumn of 2024—shortly after Russian forces successfully used fibre-optic drones in pushing Ukrainian units out of Kursk region. Supplies increased even more markedly after April 2025, when Ukraine struck Russia’s only fibre-optic plant in Saransk.
Shipments of lithium-ion batteries to Russia rose in parallel with the expansion of domestic production of battery-powered drones and have remained high ever since.
In Iran, the surge in purchases of batteries and fibre optics came in July and August 2025—immediately after the 12-day war with Israel.
In the past, Chinese exporters deliberately mislabelled dual-use goods in order to circumvent US and European sanctions. Now, former senior US Treasury officials and arms analysts say, suppliers are no longer bothering to do so.
The logistics themselves have also changed. Whereas China previously mainly rerouted components purchased in the United States and Europe, the parts are now increasingly being manufactured directly in China itself—often at small factories that have little reason to fear sanctions. According to the WSJ’s sources, Russia and Iran are increasingly buying drone components straight from Chinese manufacturers, bypassing intermediary countries.
In comments to The Wall Street Journal, China’s foreign ministry said Beijing consistently restricts exports of dual-use goods “in accordance with its laws and regulations, as well as its international obligations”.