Iran has used a barter mechanism to import billions of dollars' worth of Chinese goods, including military equipment, in exchange for oil, according to two unnamed senior Iranian sources and three other individuals. Under the arrangement, a buyer associated with Chinese state-owned oil trading company Zhuhai Zhenrong deposited hundreds of millions of dollars per month with Chinese financial entity ChuXin. The deposits corresponded to purchases agreed with a Hong Kong-registered company linked to the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). Seventy percent of the deposits were then allocated to infrastructure projects, while thirty percent were sent to a special purpose vehicle (SPV) used to pay Chinese companies that export goods to Iran. The mechanism has been used by Iran to import medicine, vehicles, and communications equipment, but was also used at least once since September 2025 to supply Iran with millions of dollars' worth of air defense equipment.