China is increasingly receiving not only economic benefits from Russia, but also modern military knowledge, technology and combat experience gained during the war against Ukraine. According to The Economist, it is this aspect of cooperation between Moscow and Beijing that has recently been of increasing concern to Western countries, as it could significantly change the balance of power in a possible conflict over Taiwan.
The article notes that China, which has not fought a war since 1979, is seeking to compensate for its lack of combat experience by studying modern warfare techniques, Focus writes.
According to European intelligence, since 2024, Chinese troops have been undergoing training at a training ground near Volgograd, Russia, where they regularly train units of the Russian 8th Army fighting in Eastern Ukraine. This training includes training in the use of drones, urban combat, storming fortified positions, operating in trenches and forest areas, as well as field medicine and laying minefields.
Beijing is particularly interested in the development of unmanned technologies. The war in Ukraine has fundamentally changed approaches to the use of drones, electronic warfare systems and autonomous systems.
"The Chinese understand the importance of Russian knowledge. They have already realized that the nature of war is changing, and if you want to be truly prepared for war, you need to learn from people with practical experience“, noted Oleksandr Danylyuk, a former adviser to the Ukrainian Minister of Defense. At the same time, as The Economist notes, cooperation goes far beyond exercises.
Western officials suggest that Russia is transferring advanced air and missile defense technologies to China, as well as helping to make Chinese nuclear submarines less detectable to adversaries. Beijing sees these submarines as a key element in a potential conflict over Taiwan. Brown University expert Lyle Goldstein notes that the Chinese military is particularly interested in Russian data on the effectiveness of American weapons systems, in particular the HIMARS missile systems, which are also in Taiwan's arsenal.
"Russia is unlikely to intervene directly in a war over Taiwan, just as China has not intervened in Ukraine. But joint exercises and patrols offer China a rare opportunity to learn from battle-hardened Russian forces. Even a limited increase in such assistance could give China an advantage in a war over Taiwan, which would rely heavily on drones, submarines and missiles," the publication states.