The 800-page cache of documents said that China will buy dozens of military vehicles and parachute systems for its paratroopers, and Russia will provide training to troops on how to operate them.
The documents' details were verified by the Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank. They appear to show a strengthening alliance between the two countries. They said the deal would give China "expanded air maneuver capability" and "offensive options against Taiwan, the Philippines and other island states in the region."
"Chinese President Xi Jinping has directed the People's Liberation Army to be ready to militarily seize Taiwan by 2027," RUSI said. "A large-scale amphibious operation is highly risky, with the sites suitable for landing craft to deliver troops and equipment ashore constrained by the gradient and load bearing capacity of the beaches. Seizing airfields could allow troops to flow in by air, but as Russia discovered during its invasion of Ukraine, runways can be quickly denied. The PLA is therefore eager to identify ways of diversifying both the methods and locations at which it can move units onto Taiwan."
"It is a very good example of how the Russians have become an enabler for the Chinese," making the two countries' militaries almost impossible to separate, said Jack Watling, senior research fellow for Land Warfare at RUSI, who also wrote the analysis, along with Oleksandr V. Danylyuk.
Russia's oil and gas, along with its large defense industry, could become a "strategic backup for China," Watling added.
Taiwan is a self-governing island that China claims as its own. Taiwan also is a U.S. ally.
The leaked documents were found by a hacktivist group, Black Moon. They show Russia agreeing in October 2024 to sell 37 BMD-4M light amphibious vehicles, 11 Sprut-SDM1 self-propelled anti-tank guns, 11 BTR-MDM airborne armored personnel carriers to the People's Liberation Army Air Force.
The main equipment provision contract had a value of $584 million before it was finalized, The Washington Post reported. It also included several command and observation vehicles and parachute systems designed to airdrop heavy loads from high altitudes.
Other documents in the cache show several rounds of negotiations. There was a meeting in Beijing in April 2024 where the Chinese requested Moscow speed up the delivery timeline for certain vehicles. They also asked Russia to include complete technical documentation and adapt the weaponry to make it compatible with Chinese software, electronic, radio and navigation systems. Russia will also set up a repair-and-maintenance hub in China.
"Military cooperation between China and Russia goes far beyond what has been publicly acknowledged," a Taiwanese security official commenting on the Russia-China deals told the Washington Post.
Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have attended each other's military parades in the past year. Their two militaries held 14 joint exercises in 2024, which is nearly double what they did 10 years ago, The Post reported.
Last week, Chinese military representatives attended Russia and Belarus's Zapad-2025 war games where Russia demonstrated the high-altitude airdrops of heavy equipment that China wants to use, according to the documents.
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