'Hunting rifles' -- really? China ships assault weapons and body armor to Russia

[Kennah]

Source: Politico

Chinese companies, including one connected to the government in Beijing, have sent Russian entities 1,000 assault rifles and other equipment that could be used for military purposes, including drone parts and body armor, according to trade and customs data obtained by POLITICO.

The shipments took place between June and December 2022, according to the data provided by Import Genius, a customs data aggregator.

China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, one of the country’s largest state-owned defense contractors, sent the rifles in June 2022 to a Russian company called Tekhkrim that also does business with the Russian state and military. The CQ-A rifles, modeled off of the M16 but tagged as “civilian hunting rifles” in the data, have been reported to be in use by paramilitary police in China and by armed forces from the Philippines to South Sudan and Paraguay.

Russian entities also received 12 shipments of drone parts by Chinese companies and over 12 tons of Chinese body armor, routed via Turkey, in late 2022, according to the data.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/16/chinese-rifles-body-armor-russia-ukraine-00087398

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Let the sanctions begin

[yaesu]

1. We need to start sanctioning china like we are Belarus. nt

[Grins]

2. How does an army run short - of rifles?

Tanks, artillery, missiles, helicopters, etc. sure. But rifles are what armies are all about.

Russia is really effed up.

[yagotme]

9. You have to remember that the basic Russian conscript

is probably a lower class, lowly educated individual. Preventative maintenance is probably low on the list, and battlefield casualties are a BIG loss on rifles. The Russkies aren't picking up a lot of those rifles, the Uke's are. The Russian "system" is not that great either, reports of "full" armories probably being made, with actually less in actual stock. Pencil-whipping is a thing in Russia, as is probably many other countries, as well.

[SunSeeker]

3. China is playing on the wrong side of history. nt

[justhanginon]

4. Maybe the U.S. should send Ukraine some F-16 crop dusters. Two can play that game!

[mahina]

7. Really good one

😂

[Wonder Why]

12. +10

[getagrip_already]

5. m-16's? lol.....

Good luck with those in the mud and cold. The us dumped those decades ago in favor of m4's. Even the troops in ukrain prefer the ak models to the ar models because they jam far less frequently and are much more cold tolerant. If the ammo isn't compatible, the russians will be really challenged to get bullets to those with those guns.

I guess the chinese got stuck with some ar's they couldn't sell to the rubes in texas and florida.

[yagotme]

10. The M-4 is a shortened, slightly redesigned M-16.

You can take both rifles apart, down to the pins, throw everything in the air, and build 2 different rifles again. A few parts are dedicated, like the buffer/spring (short to short), but the internals are basically drop in replacement except for full auto/3 burst. You can put the 3 burst in an M-4, but, why? A big thing on the m-4 was the feed ramps, which were getting battered with the new (at the time) M118 green tip. The ramp groove was just extended lower into the receiver for a "fix". Hope this helps.

[Mysterian]

6. I don't understand why China would risk its relationship with the West

to support a shithole like Russia. Oil and gas?

[yagotme]

11. Putin's old school.

Wants a return to the old Communist way. China is communist. The West is the ultimate enemy, regardless of what trade relations you have. A chance to hurt us will be taken, if presented. Lead in the paint of children's toys? Glycol in dog food? Precursors of Fentanyl sold to cartels in Mexico? Not actions of someone who wants to be our friend, really. And, if I were really a conspiracist, I would guess that China is helping to continue the war, to wear down OUR supplies of ammo/weapons. Our stocks are falling, seemingly faster than what we are replacing it.

[roamer65]

14. Siberia.

The Chinese want it and its resources without a fight.

[republianmushroom]

8. assault weapons are hunting rife just ask any republican

[Delphinus]

13. I thought

they were staying out of things; guess someone was lying or hoping not to get caught.