China Stopped Supplying High-precision Machine Tools To Russia

• 5.10.2025, 18:09

Restrictions on the supply of precision equipment coincided with a general decline in trade turnover between the countries.

China has tightened export restrictions, making it virtually impossible for Russia to receive Chinese machine tools with an accuracy of 3-4 microns. This was reported by the owner of Tatpromstan Ildar Nuriev at the TEMP forum on metalworking and additive technologies, The Moscow Times.

"China has restricted the supply of high-tech equipment, although it is not mentioned much. If before you could get machine tools with an accuracy of 3-4 microns, now you can't anymore. You have to take a special export license," Nuriev said (quoted by MashTech). He also noted that even the export of already purchased equipment from China began to be accompanied by "unpleasant incidents".

Nuriev's company specializes in the localization of machine-tool complexes based on Chinese technologies, and he regards these restrictions as a sign of Beijing's unwillingness to develop partnership with companies from Russia.

The restrictions on the supply of high-precision equipment coincided with a general decline in trade turnover between the countries. According to the Chinese customs service, in August 2025, shipments of Chinese goods to the Russian market fell by 16.4% year-on-year. This is twice as much as in July, when the decline was 8.6%.

In general, in the first eight months of 2025, the trade turnover between the two countries decreased by almost 9% to 1.03 trillion yuan (about $145 billion). Russian exports to China decreased by 8.8%, while Chinese imports to Russia decreased by 8.2%.

Experts from the Gaidar Institute note that China has reduced purchases of almost all types of Russian raw materials. In January-May 2025, supplies of oil decreased by 11%, oil products - by 28%, liquefied natural gas - by 13%, timber and coal - by 10%.