China has sharply reduced the supply of smartphones to Russia and almost stopped the supply of telecommunications equipment
In March 2022, China significantly cut the supply of smartphones, laptops and other technological products to Russia.
What is known
This was announced by Gina Raimondo, US Secretary of Commerce. The official believes that this indicates China's cautious approach to violating the sanctions that were imposed by the United States and allies on Russia due to military aggression against Ukraine.
The states have banned the supply of military and dual-use products to the Russian Federation. This list does not include smartphones or laptops, but many companies have stopped exporting their products despite not being on the sanctions list.
In March, Chinese companies, compared with February, immediately reduced the supply of smart phones to Russia by 66%. With laptops, things were similar - a drop of 40%. But the export of telecommunications equipment has practically stopped altogether, falling immediately by 98% compared to the last month of winter.
The West still does not understand whether China is ready to help Russia bypass the imposed sanctions. However, some actions of companies hint that the Celestial Empire intends to leave the Russian Federation to solve its problems alone. In particular, recently DJI announced on the suspension of activities on the territory of Russia (in Ukraine, too, by the way). Huawei removed from AppGallery applications of banks that fell under the sanctions, sharply reduced the supply of equipment and turned off support for Mir cards.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Xiaomi and Lenovo WSJ: Xiaomi and Lenovo "quietly" leave the Russian market. And if you believe Financial Times, smartphone supplies Xiaomi, OPPO and Huawei in the Russian Federation fell by half. At the same time, the companies do not officially comment on their connection with the sanctions restrictions.
In conclusion, we add that other countries have also significantly reduced the supply of technological products to Russia. In particular, the United States - by 86%, South Korea - by 62%, and Finland - by 60%.
Source: The Washington Post
