Chinese state firm secretly supplied Russia with drone-making materials - Politico
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin (photo: Getty Images)
The Chinese state-owned company Jilin Chemical Fiber Group may have supplied Russia with materials needed to produce hundreds of kamikaze drones. The shipments were reportedly disguised, Politico reports.
The outlet writes that documents examined by Western governments provide the most compelling evidence to date that a Chinese state corporation continues to assist a sanctioned company that is part of the Kremlin's military-industrial complex.
According to the media outlet, the company in question is Jilin Chemical Fiber Group, a major Chinese state-owned company that is one of the world's leading producers of advanced chemical and composite materials.
According to shipping and customs documents, the Chinese company disguised the delivery of 46 tons of carbon fiber chemicals to a subsidiary of Russia's Rosatom earlier this year. In particular, the corporation develops key components for kamikaze drones.
Politico notes that Chinese components have long been recovered from Russian drones in Ukraine. However, documents collected from Russian sources by the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, which is close to the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers, for the first time describe in detail how a Chinese state-owned company exported components critical to drone production directly to Russia.
According to a US government representative, the US House Select Committee on China examined the documents and determined that they were "legitimate."
A Ukrainian official told the outlet that the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers had also examined the documents and confirmed their authenticity.
"Chinese state firm Jilin Chemical Fiber Group did not respond to multiple requests for comment," Politico added.
What else is important to know
At the end of 2025, Reuters obtained documents according to which Chinese companies supplied Russia with drones. Chinese engineers also took part in testing military drones.
In January 2026, ISW also wrote that China was helping Russian industry increase the production of attack drones that the Russian army uses to strike Ukraine.
In addition, this summer, a representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded to NATO statements about assistance to Russia in the war against Ukraine and advised the Alliance to reflect on itself.
