In the recent years since Russia initiated its full-blown aggression against Ukraine, China has been implicated by Western countries for providing Moscow with vital technology, including microchips – components accused of fueling the Russian hostility. This has led to a wave of sanctions on numerous Chinese businesses and individuals, enforced by both Washington and Brussels, in a strategic move to halt the technological aid to Russia’s warfare apparatus.
However, Western sanctions have seemingly overlooked a key link in this chain – around twenty-four Chinese companies are still actively supplying Russia with gallium, germanium, and antimony. These crucial elements are found in the drones and missiles that the Russian forces are exploiting to besiege Ukraine.
An inquiry by Schemes, the investigative division of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, reveals that these Chinese firms are channelling these essential minerals to the Russian military-industrial complex. This includes the state-owned association Rostec, which is reported to be the source of nearly 80% of the weaponry Russia is utilizing in Ukraine.
As per records investigated by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and examined by Schemes, at least a third of these providers have some level of ownership by the Chinese government. This is despite Beijing’s public denial of escalating or instigating Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Of these Chinese suppliers, key companies include Yunnan Lincang Xinyuan Germanium Industry, VITAL Technology Group, and Hynhe Technology. These companies have significant ties with state-owned companies and members of the Chinese Communist Party.
Interestingly, the recipients of these Chinese minerals include a Russian firm, owned by Japan, which has been selling silicon wafers to Russian weapon microelectronics manufacturers. This is noteworthy as Japan has been coordinating its own sanctions against Russia with Washington and Brussels.
Post Russia’s February 2022 invasion, the United States and the EU imposed restrictions on exports of gallium, germanium, and antimony to Russia. However, China’s non-adherence to Western sanctions aimed at Moscow limits their effectiveness.
These minerals are crucial elements in the microelectronics and military applications sector, with applications in areas such as nuclear weapons, laser-guidance systems, drones, and infrared sensors for warships, aircraft, missiles, and tanks.
Despite sanctions, China, the world’s largest producer of gallium, germanium, and antimony, has maintained a stronghold on the market for these minerals in Russia. Amidst the Western sanctions regime, China emerged as the only foreign supplier of gallium and germanium to Russia in 2023 and continues to be Russia’s largest supplier of antimony.
Public procurement records indicate that multiple Russian research institutes under U.S. sanctions are doing business with Chinese gallium importers. Both gallium and germanium are used in technology vital for Russian weapons, including laser guidance systems like those used in the Orlan-30 unmanned reconnaissance drone, which Moscow has deployed in Ukraine.
The investigation by Schemes also reveals the role of a Russian subsidiary of the Japanese company Ferrotec in this supply-chain link. This subsidiary has both imported antimony from China and sold silicon wafers to Russian manufacturers of military microelectronics. Despite inquiries, the parent company has not responded for comment.
