China became Russia's sole supplier of gallium, germanium, and stibium, chemical substances needed to produce weapons, including nuclear ones, after the introduction of EU and U.S. sanctions in 2022, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Schemes' investigation said on Jan. 30.
Ukraine's Western partners have imposed heavy sanctions against Russia after the outbreak of the full-scale war in 2022 to cut off key supply lines of the Russian defense industry.
As Russia's options to purchase gallium and germanium from around the world almost disappeared, China became the sole supplier in 2023, the investigation said, citing leaked data from Russian customs databases.
Stibium is reportedly supplied to Russia only from China and the United Arab Emirates, two countries that are not part of the sanctions coalition.
Beijing repeatedly denied supplying components for Russian military production, but the investigation revealed links between Chinese state-owned companies and Russian enterprises working for the Russian army.
Of the nearly 20 Chinese companies exporting these metals to Russia, one-third are state-owned.
One of the key suppliers of germanium is the Chinese Yunnan Lincang Xinyuan Germanium Industry, in which Bao Wendong, a member of the Chinese Communist Party, holds a share of ownership. The rest of the shares are held by companies with state capital, Schemes wrote.
Its products are reportedly purchased by companies affiliated with Rostec, the Russian state-owned arms manufacturer, including factories that produce optical systems for military equipment.
Vital Technology Group is another Chinese company that supplies gallium, germanium, and stibium. Russia's Ferrotek Nord purchases its products, which in turn cooperates with Angstrom, a supplier of microchips to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Chinese gallium is also used in the production of nuclear weapons, as this metal stabilizes plutonium bombs. Russia's Kurchatov Institute, which is engaged in nuclear development, has been purchasing products containing gallium through Cryotrade Engineering. According to the investigation, the company buys gallium from the Chinese Hynhe Technology Co. Ltd.
China has deepened its ties with Russia since the start of the Kremlin's full-scale war against Ukraine and has become Moscow's leading source of dual-use goods that feed the Russian defense industry.
Beijing has also sough to position itself as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, sending envoy Li Hui on multiple rounds of shuttle diplomacy in Europe. At the same time, China has criticized the U.S. and its allies for "exacerbating" the war by supplying arms to Ukraine, while NATO has named Beijing a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war.
Simon Johnson
(Updated: )
