China Sent Hunting Rifles, Body Armor And Drone Parts To Russia Amid Putin's War In Ukraine: Report

Government-linked Chinese companies reportedly sent around 1,000 assault rifles and other equipment to Russian entities that could be used for military purposes.

What Happened: Chinese companies — including one connected to Beijing — sent drone parts and body armor to Russia, according to trade and customs data obtained by Politico.

The report added that, according to the data provided by the customs data aggregator, Import Genius, shipments took place between June and December last year.

It added that one of the country's largest state-owned defense contractors China North Industries Group Corporation Limited sent the rifles in June last year to a Russian company that does business with the state and military.

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In the data, the CQ-A rifles, modeled off of the M16, were tagged as "civilian hunting rifles." The M16 has been used by Chinese paramilitary police and by armed forces from the Philippines to South Sudan and Paraguay. The Moscow-based companies also received 12 shipments of drone parts and over 12 tons of Chinese body armor routed via Turkey.

Although it can't explicitly be concluded by the customs data that Xi Jinping's country is aiding Vladimir Putin's war effort in Ukraine by selling a large number of weapons, it does reveal that China is supplying commercial items that could also be used on the battlefield.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated his warning and said it was vital that China not supply Russia with weapons. The German leader said he doesn’t expect the war in Ukraine to end soon.

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