Staff members set a route for a drone to spray pesticide above a field in Zhongtang Village of Heshan District in Yiyang, central China's Hunan Province, on April 21, 2023. Agricultral machines such as rice transplanter, rotary tiller and drones have helped streamlining the spring ploughing here. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese dronemaker DJI said on Tuesday that it has never designed or manufactured any product or equipment for military purpose, and it will strictly adhere to export controls enforced by the government.

DJI said in a statement that it is strongly opposed to the use of its products and technology for military or war purposes, and it has never promoted or sold its products for such purposes. The company has also been taking active measures to avoid its drones from being converted into weapons or used for military purposes, and the company always abides by legal requirements. 

DJI said that it will strictly follow the recent export control measures announced by the Chinese government while fulfilling its corporate social responsibility.

Aerospace CH UAV Co, a listed company under China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, noted that the government's latest export control measures will not affect the company's export business, adding that the new government policy will help standardize the order of the military drone export market, according to media reports on Tuesday. 

The companies' responses came after four government departments on Monday issued two notices to impose export controls on certain unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and related items, in order to safeguard China's national security and interests, which will take effect on September 1.

DJI's statement emphasized its market purpose, which is for civilian use and does not target any potential military units, Wang Yanan, an aviation expert at Beihang University and chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Wang said that the four Chinese authorities issuing the notices, including the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission and the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, will have more effective supervision of the exports of civilian drones, as these authorities are more sensitive about products that might be utilized for military purposes. 

Wang added that the ultimate goal for the notices is to ensure the trade for military drones and equipment will only go through cooperation channels between governments, and prevent civilian drones from being converted for military purposes.

The notices imposed export controls on items including some specialized drone engines and communication equipment, while implementing temporary export controls on consumer-grade drones for two years and prohibiting drones not listed from being exported for military purposes, a spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Monday.

The export controls do not target any country or region, the spokesperson said. The spokesperson noted that high-performance UAVs have certain military attributes, and implementing export controls is in line with international practice. 

China has started to implement export controls governing UAVs since 2022, and the scope of controls and technical standards are in line with those of the international community.

China decided to moderately expand export controls on drones as a major producer and exporter, amid increased risks for high-grade, high-performance civilian drones being repurposed for military use in recent years due to the expanded application scenarios of drones, the MOFCOM said. 

However, export controls do not mean an outright ban on drone exports as Chinese enterprises can still export their products for legitimate civilian uses after following the necessary procedures, the ministry added.

Global Times