China is studying possibilities for exporting drones and ammunition to Russia to fuel Moscow’s war effort against Ukraine, sources familiar with the US intelligence community reports told CNN and The Wall Street Journal.
According to CNN, Beijing is yet to make a final decision, but talks between Russia and China about the price and quantities of supplies are ongoing.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, Moscow has repeatedly requested drones and ammo from Beijing. The Chinese leadership has been discussing whether to grant these requests in the last few months, CNN notes.
The US intelligence received reports in the past weeks that Beijing started to lean towards sending the weapons, CNN sources claim. At the same time, the ammo “would likely be for small arms like handheld weaponry rather than larger artillery”.
However, WSJ sources say that China is looking into supplying “artillery and armed drones”.
Earlier, Der Spiegel reported that Russia was involved in talks about full-scale production of kamikaze drones with China’s Xi’an Bingo Intelligent Aviation Technology. It is claimed that the company agreed to test and send 100 ZT-180 drones to Russia by April. The drone exports to Moscow are just the first stage of cooperation, the newspaper noted.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier accused China of supplying Russia with non-lethal military aid, noting that Beijing was considering sending weapons as well. The Chinese Foreign Ministry slammed the statement as “libel” and “groundless speculations”.
