China is gaining invaluable military knowledge and combat experience from Russia, which could significantly bolster its capabilities in a potential conflict over Taiwan. As reported by The Economist, Western officials are increasingly alarmed that the Moscow-Beijing axis is moving beyond simple hardware transfers to deep strategic knowledge sharing.
Since 2024, intelligence reports suggest that Chinese military personnel have been training at Russian facilities near Volgograd. They are focusing on lessons learned from the war in Ukraine: urban warfare, drone swarm tactics, and large-scale minefield navigation. For the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which has not engaged in a major conflict since 1979, the war in Ukraine serves as a live-fire laboratory. By observing the impact of FPV drones and electronic warfare on the battlefield, China is rapidly refining its own autonomous systems and cyber capabilities.
Furthermore, Russia’s assistance in the naval sector is particularly concerning. While China possesses the world’s largest navy by ship count, its submarine fleet still struggles to match American technological standards. Analysts suspect that Russia is providing critical submarine quieting technologies—vital for stealth—that could be incorporated into China’s upcoming Type 095 and Type 096 nuclear-powered submarines. This would be a game-changer for regional power dynamics in the Indo-Pacific.
Beijing is also showing a keen interest in Russian data regarding the performance of Western-supplied weapons, including HIMARS and various air defense systems used by Ukraine. By studying these interactions, China is attempting to build a database of counter-measures against NATO-standard equipment, preparing its forces for a potential clash in the Taiwan Strait.
While China officially denies the depth of this military cooperation, the evidence of deepening ties is mounting. Though there is no formal mutual defense treaty between Moscow and Beijing, the ongoing transfer of tactical and technological knowledge serves as a force multiplier for the Chinese military. In the long run, this intelligence sharing could fundamentally alter the balance of power in the Pacific, creating a multi-front security challenge for the United States and its allies. Western leaders must now reconcile with the reality that the war in Ukraine has become a foundational training ground for the next generation of Chinese military strategy.