Hong Kong has become a key access channel for Moscow to technologies with limited access, including microcircuits and integrated circuits.
How China provides Russia with geospatial intelligence data
The US is warning allies that China has stepped up its support for Russia, including by providing geospatial intelligence to help Moscow in its war against Ukraine.
Amid signs of further military integration between the two countries, China has provided Russia with satellite imagery for military purposes, as well as microelectronics and machine tools for tanks, people familiar with the matter said.
One of the interlocutors noted that China's support also covers optical instruments, rocket fuel and increased space cooperation, according to Bloomberg.
What is the goal of the PRC
Beijing has sought to portray itself as largely neutral in the face of full-scale war in Ukraine, but it has forged a deep alliance with Moscow in what Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have called a "borderless" friendship ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
In 2023, the volume of trade between the two countries reached a record 240 billion dollars. After the outflow of Western manufacturers and numerous sanctions, Russia's neighbor became a supplier of everything from clothes to machinery and cars. At the same time, Russia increased its exports to China of such raw materials as coal and oil.
China, namely Hong Kong, has become a key access channel for Moscow to technologies with limited access, including microcircuits and integrated circuits, which are used in weapons or necessary for their creation. The United States and the European Union have listed several Chinese firms that carry out these transfers, but the trade has not stopped.
China's support for Russia has increased in recent months, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The US and its allies will try to convey their concerns to Beijing and step up efforts to end China's support for the Russian defense industry.
