Did They Mind the US...? 'Chinese-made' Products Quietly Disappearing in Russia

A customer browsing Xiaomi products at an offline store. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Foreign media reports have emerged that Chinese tech companies are withdrawing from the Russian market following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

According to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), leading Chinese companies such as Lenovo, the world's largest personal computer (PC) manufacturer, Xiaomi, a smartphone manufacturer, and DJI, the world's largest drone manufacturer, are pulling out of the Russian market.

First, Lenovo stopped shipping goods to Russia at the end of February, before Western sanctions took effect, following Russia's invasion. WSJ cited a source stating that Lenovo decided to halt exports despite having inventory for sales within Russia. As of last year, Lenovo was the second-largest PC seller in Russia.

Xiaomi has also reduced exports to Russia. A Russian distributor recently reported that they had not received a single shipment from Xiaomi in the past few weeks, WSJ reported.

Unlike these companies quietly withdrawing, DJI publicly announced at the end of last month that it would temporarily suspend product sales in both Russia and Ukraine. The company explained that this measure was to prevent its drones from being used in the war.

Exports of Chinese products to Russia sharply declined starting in March, when the war intensified. Laptop exports decreased by more than 40% compared to the previous month, smartphone exports dropped by over two-thirds, and telecommunications base station equipment exports fell by 98%.

Despite pressure from the Chinese government not to comply with Western sanctions, analysts suggest that the actions of Chinese companies are a result of indirect pressure from the United States.

The U.S. considers it a violation of sanctions for foreign companies using U.S.-made equipment and software to export products to Russia's defense sector. Therefore, Chinese companies that receive key components such as semiconductors from the U.S. appear to have been compelled to heed Western sanctions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.