On two separate occasions last year, train cars carrying tens of thousands of kilograms of smokeless powder — enough propellant to make at least 80 million cartridges — crossed the China-Russia border into the remote town of Zabaykalsk.
The powder was supplied by Poly Technologies, a Chinese state-owned company that the United States relied on earlier imposed sanctions for his worldwide sales of missile technology and support to Iran. The destination was Barnaul Cartridge Plant, a munitions factory in central Russia with a history of supplying the Russian government.
These previously unreported shipments, which were identified by Import genius, a US-based trade data aggregator, is raising new questions about the role China has played in supporting Russia in its fight to seize Ukrainian territory. US officials have expressed concern that China could be funneling products to Russia that would aid in its war effort — what is known as “lethal aid” — though they have not said outright that China has made such shipments.
US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Monday from Beijing that China had assured the United States that it was not providing lethal aid to Russia for use in Ukraine, and that the US government “has not seen anything yet.” to contradict that.”
“But what we are concerned about is private companies in China that may be providing assistance,” Mr Blinken said.
Some experts said the shipments Poly Technologies had made to Barnaul Cartridge Plant since the invasion, which customs records totaled nearly $2 million, were such a deadly aid. According to customs records, Poly Technology intended its shipments to be used in the types of ammunition fired by Russian Kalashnikov assault rifles and sniper rifles.
William George, the research director at Import Genius, said Poly Technologies “may be following the line on exactly what deadly aid to Russia entails,” but that the implications of the shipments were clear.
“When shipping large quantities of gunpowder, intended for making military cartridges, to a country at war, it is unreasonable to imagine that the finished product will not be used to lethal effect on the battlefield,” said Mr. George.
“It’s deadly support,” said Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. “The question is, how impactful and large-scale is that?”
Mr Gabuev said China had generally refrained from actions that would cross “in a visible, forceful way” the red lines the US government set out at the start of the war about what would constitute a violation of Western sanctions. However, since Poly Technologies has a history of shipments to the Barnaul factory before the war, China could view those shipments as part of regular trade flows.
“In general, China is trying to stick to those red lines,” he said. “Having said that, we see some contracts and transactions going on.”
Poly Technologies is a subsidiary of China Poly Group Corporation, which is owned by the Chinese government. Previous reports of The Wall Street Journal And CNN documented shipments of navigation equipment and helicopter parts from Poly Technologies to Russian state-backed companies.
Barnaul Cartridge Plant, the recipient of the gunpowder shipments, is privately owned. But Russian procurement data provided to The New York Times by C4ADS, a Washington, D.C.-based global security nonprofit, shows that the company had numerous contracts over the past decade with divisions of the Russian government and the United States. Russian military, including the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Barnaul Cartridge Plant wash added to a list of companies approved by the European Union in December. Open source information suggests the factory may have served as a training camp associated with the Wagner Group, a private Russian military force associated with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin.
There is no known direct connection between these particular shipments of smokeless powder and the Ukrainian battlefield, and in customs records, Poly Technologies described the powder as “for compounding foreign-style hunting cartridges”.
But Brian Carlson, a China-Russia expert and the head of the global security team at the Center for Security Studies think tank, said that while such cartridges could be used for hunting, it was rare. “These are military cartridges,” he said.
Most modern firearms and other weapons used by both soldiers and civilians rely on smokeless powder to propel a bullet to its target. When the trigger is pulled, a firing pin strikes the back of the ammunition cartridge, igniting the powder, which burns extremely quickly and forces the bullet down the barrel of a firearm.
This type of powder is also used by military personnel as a propellant for mortar ammunition, launching explosive-laden projectiles weighing from four pounds to 30 pounds or more.
Poly Technologies and Barnaul Cartridge Plant did not respond to requests for comment.
The war in Ukraine, now entering its 17th month, has intensified in recent weeks. The ability of both armies to obtain ammunition and equipment has become a critical factor that can influence the outcome of the war.
Western countries restricted their trade with Russia after the invasion, trying to starve the country of military supplies and supplies that fuel their economies and help the government generate revenue.
But countries like China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey stepped in to supply Russia with goods ranging from everyday products such as smartphones and cars to airplane parts and munitions.
Both state-owned and private Chinese companies have been selling Russian products that could plausibly be used by civilians or the military – including drones, semiconductors, hunting guns, navigation equipment and aircraft parts.
China has officially remained untethered in the war. Officials there claim that Beijing is a neutral party and a peacemaker. In practice, however, China has become an important diplomatic, economic and security partner of Russia after declaring a borderless partnership early last year.
In a speech in April in Washington, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen called that partnership a “worrying indication” that China is not serious about ending the war. And she warned that the consequences for China of providing material support to Russia or helping to evade sanctions “would be severe”.
In recent months, US officials have also privately reached out directly to Chinese financial institutions to discuss the risks of facilitating the evasion or circumvention of sanctions and export controls.
Chinese companies “have to make a choice,” Wally Adeyemo, the deputy finance minister, said in an interview on Fox Business TV earlier this month. “They can provide Russia with material support for their military and continue to do business with an economy that is maybe $1.5 trillion and shrinking, or you can continue to do business with the rest of the world.”
Poly Technologies is one of China’s largest arms exporters. It produces equipment for police and armed forces, including weapons, personal protective equipment, explosives and missile systems. It has been criticized in recent decades for shipping small arms to Zimbabwe. In recent years, it has sent arms shipments to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nigeria, according to data accessed through Sayari Graph, a tool for charting corporate ownership and commercial relationships.
Barnaul products have been common on US shelves in recent years, including ammunition for military-style rifles, shotguns, and US pistols. The goods came to America through various importers, including MKS Supply, LLC, an ammunition wholesaler based in Dayton, Ohio.
According to an MKS Supply official, the company shut down Barnaul Cartridge Plant early last year following a U.S. government ban on imports of Russian munitions.
Edward Wong contributed reporting from Beijing.