Intelligence Exposes Secret Russian-Chinese Military Cooperation
JAKARTA — Several Russian defence-industry suppliers have begun moving some of their manufacturing and technology-development activities to China amid the prolonged war in Ukraine and sanctions imposed by Western countries. The shift highlights Moscow’s growing reliance on Beijing’s industrial capacity to sustain weapons production, while raising questions about the future of Russia’s military-technology independence.
The development was detailed in an investigative report by the US research organisation Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), published on Thursday (22 October 2026). The report, titled A Marriage of Convenience? The Promise and Pitfalls of Chinese-Russian Advanced Conventional Weapons Cooperation, found that Russian-Chinese defence cooperation has expanded beyond arms trading to include the use of manufacturing facilities, technology exchanges, and joint research and development.
The findings drew renewed attention after Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence (GUR) disclosed information on Monday (26 October 2026) about 30 items of foreign industrial equipment said to be used by Russian companies in the production chain for ballistic missiles and weapons components. The equipment includes Chinese-made machinery which, according to Ukrainian intelligence, is used at Russian strategic missile production facilities.
The two developments, reported within days of each other, illustrate the growing importance of China’s industry to Russia’s ability to maintain military production. However, the available evidence does not show that Russia’s entire arms industry has moved to China; rather, it points to some manufacturing activity shifting and increased reliance on foreign machinery, components and technology.
Russian microelectronics company begins production in China
One company highlighted in the C4ADS investigation is Element, a Russian microelectronics group that supplies components to several industries, including defence. According to the study, Element began assembling chips in China in 2024 after sanctions imposed by the United States restricted its access to technology.
A report also covered by The Moscow Times on 23 October said Element had registered at least four subsidiaries in China. The company was also reported to be seeking Mandarin-language teachers for its employees, indicating efforts to expand its business and operations in the country.
Element has been under US sanctions since 2022 because of its links to Russia’s industrial sector. Chip assembly in China offers the company an opportunity to draw on supplier networks and manufacturing capacity that are harder to access directly from Western countries.
The cooperation also involves intellectual property in power electronics. According to findings by researchers cited by RBC-Ukraine, a company affiliated with Element acquired intellectual-property rights from Chinese firm Shijiazhuang Tonhe Electronics in April 2026.
However, C4ADS has not found sufficient evidence to establish that Element’s facilities in China have produced semiconductors to military specifications. The distinction matters: assembling chips for general industrial use does not, in itself, prove that weapons components are being produced.
Even so, the involvement of Russian defence suppliers in China’s manufacturing ecosystem points to an increasingly clear shift. Russian companies are no longer relying solely on imports of finished components, but are also seeking access to production facilities and technology-development capabilities outside Russia.
Russian precision-machinery maker also looks to China
Another company highlighted is StankoMashStroy, a Russian industrial machinery manufacturer with business ties to several defence companies. In 2023, it announced plans to establish machine-tool production in China in cooperation with Baoji Machine Tool Group, which operates in Shaanxi Province.
High-precision machine tools, including those using computer numerical control (CNC) technology, are important to modern manufacturing. They enable metal components to be produced with a high degree of accuracy for a range of applications, including industrial machinery, military vehicles and weapons systems.
According to C4ADS, StankoMashStroy owner Oleg Kochetkov registered a company called Shaanxi Stermasi Technology in China. Researchers have not, however, been able to confirm that the planned production venture with Baoji Machine Tool Group has become operational.