China publicly talks up peace in Ukraine, but in practice has become a key source of technology, raw materials and financing that help sustain Russia’s aggression.
Beijing, which routinely professes a commitment to peace, is now the primary supplier of military-related technology to Russia, according to an investigation by the independent Russian outlet Verstka.
Even as these supplies continue, Moscow is proposing that China be included among the countries that could guarantee Ukraine’s security after the war. The issue is expected to be discussed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s current trip to Beijing, set to be the Kremlin chief’s longest foreign visit in a decade.
Kyiv has rejected the idea. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Beijing did not help halt the invasion but did give Russia access to the drone market - and that is far from the only form of support.
Without mass shipments from China, the drone war in Ukraine would not be possible. What numbered in the dozens at the front in 2022 now runs into the hundreds of thousands each month.
Russia is receiving Chinese engines, antennas, controllers, and complete kits of civilian quadcopters - notably DJI’s Mavic line.
For fiber-optic drones, widely used since last year, China supplies Moscow with cables. In 2024, 382,000 tons of optical fiber were moved out of China via Central Asia. Even a fraction of that can cover the Russian military’s needs for months.
China also plays a central role in high-tech supplies. As of 2023, roughly 90% of Russia’s imports of so‑called priority goods came from China - components critical for producing missiles, drones and precision-strike systems.
Downed Russian Iskander-M ballistic missiles, Kh-101 cruise missiles and Lancet loitering munitions have repeatedly been found to contain parts from U.S. companies that reached Russia through Chinese intermediaries.
Beyond microchips, China has sharply increased exports of industrial machine tools to Russia, now accounting for up to 80% of such imports, compared with less than 20% before the war.
Explosives and their precursors are another key element. China covers about half of Russia’s needs for the stabilizer diphenylamine, used in storing and deploying nitrocellulose — the base for propellants.
Nitrocellulose shipments have surged: 700 tons in 2022 and 1,300 tons in 2023, enough to produce roughly 200,000 artillery shells.
Ammunition seen on the front lines has also been linked to China - allegedly produced there but marked as North Korean or Iranian.
Beyond direct supplies, China has become the top buyer of Russian oil and the Kremlin’s largest trading partner, helping Moscow sustain its war budget. Beijing also provides tools to circumvent financial sanctions.
NATO has explicitly called the “no-limits partnership” between Moscow and Beijing a decisive factor enabling Russia to continue its aggression.
According to the South China Morning Post, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has told European counterparts in private that a Russian defeat would run counter to Beijing’s interests. Officially, China still refers to the war as the “Ukraine crisis” and says it is ready to help facilitate a settlement.
Experts say Beijing will not allow a significant weakening of Moscow, seeing it as detrimental to its own strategic position. Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin, explained: “If Russia becomes a pro-Western country, China will find itself strategically surrounded, so abandoning support for Moscow is not an option for Beijing.”
In effect, the People’s Republic of China presents itself as a peacemaker in public statements while serving as a crucial partner to the Kremlin in practice. Chinese technology, resources and trade are what enable Russia to prosecute its war against Ukraine.
