Amid the heat-seeking tension with the United States when it comes to technology, China is about to curb the export of drones and other related products soon.
Beijing announced that the implementation will be effective by September 2023. The government believes that this move is crucial to protect its "national security and interest" against other countries.
China Implements Drone Export Control
Even before the drone export curb is announced, China and the US have been battling for a long time when it comes to tech supremacy.
Back in June when the US said that it was planning to restrict AI shipments to China, Beijing immediately felt the impact with the declining price of AI stocks.
The immediate decrease in the value of stocks came after the White House stated that China has sinister plans for its AI tech advancements.
Outside the field of artificial intelligence, China wants to give the US a similar treatment it received two months ago.
According to AP News, China's Ministry of Commerce said that export controls will exist so that other countries won't use drones "for non-peaceful purposes," which in this case falls under military purposes.
"The risk of some high specification and high-performance civilian unmanned aerial vehicles being converted to military use is constantly increasing," the Ministry of Commerce said.
Chinese company DJI Technology Co., one of the world-class drone makers, reportedly stopped exporting drones and other drone-related goods to Russia and Ukraine in 2022 amid combat-related fears.
As for the restrictions, the particular models that will be subjected to control are those that can fly for over 30 minutes. Beijing also adds that those drones that can shoot projectiles or other things and whose weight exceeds 7 kg will also be restricted.
If China's relationship with the US is not okay, its agreement with Russia is the opposite. The Ministry of Commerce says that the Biden administration is allegedly spreading "fake" information about its latest drone curb.
Furthermore, Beijing stated that its deal with Moscow counts as "normal economic and trade cooperation. The statement came following a report from US intelligence which says that China is supplying Russia with drones against its war with Ukraine.
Related Article: DJI is Gatekeeping Its Drones to Avoid Weaponization-Stops Delivery to Russia and Ukraine
Is DJI Leaking Ukraine's Data to Russia?
The bond between China and Russia remains a "no-limits" friendship as Xi Jin Ping and Vladimir Putin declared previously.
While the US sees this as a direct threat to the people, the two countries appear to be much closer after the Russia-Ukraine war.
With China having a bountiful drone industry, some American lawmakers questioned DJI's business tactics.
According to Reuters, the drone maker also complies with China's policy and law which include the requirements for export control. However, some retailers accused DJI of data leakage.
Back in 2022, a German retailer alleged that DJI was spying on Ukraine's position in the war, but it denied the allegations.
Read Also: Researchers Develop Remote-Sensing Drones to Identify Landmines, Something that May Help Ukraine
