China has demanded that the United Kingdom lift sanctions against four Chinese companies accused of supplying Russia with critical military equipment. The Chinese embassy’s statement followed London’s publication of a new sanctions package on June 16.
“China firmly opposes the UK’s imposition of unilateral sanctions, which lack any basis in international law and harm the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies,” the embassy spokesperson stated. Beijing also demanded that the UK “immediately correct its wrongdoings” and pledged to take measures to protect the interests of Chinese businesses.
Among the companies placed under British sanctions was Shenzhen Huaxin Antenna Technology Co Ltd, better known as Harxon Corporation. The UK stated that the company had supplied goods and technologies that were used by Russia to undermine Ukraine’s territorial integrity and independence.
The sanctions were imposed one month after a joint investigation by The Insider and the Nordsint project demonstrated that Harxon was supplying Russia with CRPA anti-jamming antennas — a critical component of the navigation system of Geran (Shahed) drones. The antennas enable the drones to maintain their course despite the operation of Ukrainian electronic warfare systems.
As part of the investigation, a Nordsint correspondent posing as a buyer contacted Harxon’s sales department. Company representative Masha Wu agreed to arrange the delivery of antennas but emphasized that the contract would be drawn up through a different company. Harxon employee Anthony Zheng later joined the negotiations, offering several models of military-grade CRPA antennas and issuing an invoice for nearly $800,000.
During the exchange, Zheng explicitly stated that the company was interacting with the Russian firm Alabuga — the country’s main manufacturer of Geran drones. “We are working with Alabuga, so we have to make it confidential,” he wrote.
Following the release of the investigation, Harxon sent a letter to its partners claiming that Anthony Zheng was not a company employee and that his activities had been conducted in a private capacity. The company also denied any involvement in the manufacture of the GI and HXTX antenna series found in Russian drones shot down over Ukraine.
However, The Insider established that these claims were false. Entries on the Chinese trading platform Made in China that were deleted after the publication of the article listed Zheng as Harxon’s international sales manager. He had also been repeatedly identified as a Harxon representative by the company’s overseas partners. Zheng even worked the Harxon booth at the international exhibition INTERGEO 2023 and was featured in official company photographs from other industry events.
Masha Wu, who had initiated the negotiations over the antenna delivery, was not mentioned in Harxon’s letter. According to her LinkedIn profile, she left the company in May 2026 — after the investigation was published.
The UK government’s sanctions designation cites reasonable grounds to consider Harxon a company that has been involved in supplying technologies facilitating Russian aggression against Ukraine.
In its statement, the Chinese embassy separately emphasized that China “has been committed to promoting peace talks” and “has strictly controlled the export of dual-use items.” However, the investigation by The Insider and Nordsint showed that in order to circumvent Chinese export restrictions, Harxon antennas were being supplied to Russia under the guise of equipment for agricultural machinery.
