China has struck again! On July 31, China's Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Customs, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, and the Equipment Development Department of the ** Military Commission jointly issued an announcement on the export control of unmanned aerial vehicles, clarifying the temporary export control of some specific unmanned aerial vehicles.
According to the announcement, the export control includes not only specific UAVs, but also some UAV special engines, important payloads, radio communication equipment and civilian anti-UAV systems and other UAV parts. Implement temporary export controls for 2 years on some consumer drones, and prohibit the export of all other civilian drones not included in the controls for military purposes. The export control measures issued this time will be officially implemented on September 1.
China's drone technology is in a leading position in the world, with a market share of about 70% of the world's UAV, and Chinese drone companies represented by DJI occupy an important position in the world. However, in recent years, with the rapid development of UAV technology, UAV application scenarios continue to expand, and the risk of some high-specification and high-performance civilian UAVs being converted to military use is also rising.
In terms of specific events, Moscow has recently suffered its third drone attack, and although it is not clear that the drones used in this attack are produced in China, this incident shows that drones are beginning to be widely used for warfare. And those specific UAVs with throwing functions or specific UAVs with their own droppers are more likely to be converted from civilian to military. This is also as the spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce said, high-performance UAVs have certain military attributes, and it is an international practice to implement export controls on them.
Since civilian drones may be used for military purposes, it is our responsible practice to implement export controls on drones, which can effectively prevent civilian drones from being used for military purposes, which is conducive to maintaining world peace and stability, which is China's responsibility as a world power.
Since drones are widely used in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, are we imposing export controls on drones against Russia and Ukraine?
Let's take a look at the relevant export data first, according to customs export data, China's exports of drones and related products in 2022 will be 327.9 billion yuan, of which the amount of drones exported to Ukraine will be 2200 million yuan, accounting for about 007%；And the value of UAV exports to Russia is 57800 million yuan, accounting for 1 of China's total UAV exports77%。
Judging from the export volume of UAVs to Ukraine and Russia, it seems that it is not small, but the overall proportion is very small, and the bulk of China's UAV exports is the United States. According to customs data, in 2022, the United States imported 81.3 billion yuan of drones and related products from China, accounting for 24% of China's total drone exports8%。In other words, the United States imports nearly a quarter of China's drones, which is a proper large importer.
In addition to the United States, developed countries in the West, including Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Australia and other developed countries are purchasing a large number of Chinese drones, and the purchase amount of the United Kingdom alone has reached 12 billion yuan. It can be seen from this that the market competitiveness of China's civilian UAVs is very strong, and even these Western developed countries are purchasing a large number of Chinese UAV products.
China's exports are all civilian drones, but we have no way of knowing whether these countries will use them for military purposes after purchasing Chinese drones. For example, Western countries, including the United States, are now vigorously assisting Ukraine, including drones. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that Europe and the United States will purchase a large number of drones from China and then resell them to Ukraine, so that they can be used for war.
In fact, as early as 2002, China began to gradually implement export controls on unmanned aerial vehicles, and the specific scope of control and technical standards implemented are consistent with the international community. However, with the rapid development of UAV technology and the continuous expansion of application scenarios, the risk of converting some high-specification and high-performance civilian UAVs to military use is rising. As a major producer and exporter of drones in the world, China has expanded its export control measures for drones after full assessment and demonstration, and this measure is not aimed at any specific country or region.
In other words, China's export controls on drones are not aimed at Ukraine and Russia, but they have a huge impact on the United States, a major importer of drones. Once the United States is unable to import drones from China on a large scale, this will undoubtedly cut off the path for the United States to import a large number of drones from China and resell them to third countries such as Ukraine, thereby reducing the risk of Chinese drones being involved in military conflicts.
China's civil drones have advanced technology, excellent performance, a wide range of use scenarios, and are cheap, which makes them favored by users around the world, and their proper use can benefit the world, while their use for military purposes will have serious consequences. Therefore, China's control over the export of drones is aimed at making China's science and technology better benefit the world, rather than becoming a "murderer" of some countries and people with ulterior motives