Russia receives up to 90% of its sanctioned technologies from China, allowing it to expand military production, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. The supplies in question include semiconductors, electronics, and other equipment needed for weapons manufacturing.
That share has increased compared with last year. These supplies have enabled Moscow to boost the production of missiles and drones—even as China has begun restricting drone exports to Ukraine.
The European Union is trying to cut off these channels by imposing sanctions on companies, including in China and Hong Kong, that Brussels believes are helping to circumvent restrictions. But, Bloomberg notes, these measures have so far failed to produce the desired effect: China continues to supply Russia with critically important resources, including geospatial data, satellite imagery, and drones.
At the same time, most EU countries are not prepared to intensify sanctions pressure on Beijing, fearing economic retaliation.
China, for its part, criticised the EU’s new sanctions package against Russia, which included Chinese companies Brussels suspects of supplying dual-use goods. Beijing said it was ready to take retaliatory measures and warned that such steps undermine relations between China and the European Union.