China has restricted the export of mid-level precision machine tools to Russia, according to industry experts and the media. . According to MashTekh, a Russian industrial technology outlet that tracks domestic manufacturing, the restriction focuses on components capable of achieving an accuracy of 3 to 4 microns“critical for the production of missile components and precision-guided engines and systems.”
Chinese trade with Russia, especially oil and gas, has contributed since the start of the Russian war against Ukraine – unleashed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February 2022 – to boost Russia’s economy, hit by sanctions on Moscow for the invasion. This new measure, according to the American media, means “apparent success of US secondary sanctions aimed at weakening Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.
“The People’s Republic China has restricted the supply of high-tech equipment, although this is rarely discussed publicly,” Ildar Nuriev, owner of the Russian machine tool company Tatpromstan, told MashTekh. “If before it was possible to obtain machines with an accuracy of 3 to 4 microns, now it is no longer possible. It is necessary to obtain a special export license,” he assured.
This also occurs amid a cooling of trade between China and Russia after years of record bilateral flows. Chinese exports to Russia fell 16.4% year-on-year in August, double the drop recorded in July, according to Chinese customs data.
Meanwhile, in the first eight months of 2025, total bilateral trade fell by almost 9%, reaching 1.03 trillion yuan ($142 billion). Exports from both partners fell by more than 8%.
