Photo: VCG

Chinese drone-maker DJI on Tuesday has lodged an appeal in the US Federal Court of Appeals regarding the ruling in its lawsuit against the US Department of Defense, the Global Times learned from the Chinese company. 

In October last year, Chinese drone maker DJI filed a lawsuit with the US District Court for the District of Columbia against the US Department of Defense (DoD), challenging its decision to include DJI on the "Chinese Military Companies" (CMC) blacklist and seeking to be removed from the list.   

In September, a US judge rejected a bid by DJI to be removed from the US Defense Department's CMC blacklist, Reuters reported. The judge rejected some of the US government's other justifications for listing DJI.

The Chinese company disagrees with and does not accept this ruling, and has lodged an appeal on Tuesday in the US Federal Court of Appeals to resolutely defend the company's reputation and interests, DJI said in a statement sent to the Global Times. 

"DJI has always firmly opposed the use of the company's products and technologies for any military or war purposes and has taken comprehensive measures to prevent our products from being misused for military or war objectives," it noted.

DJI was placed on the CMC list by the US Department of Defense in 2022 without any explanation, according to media reports. Since then, DJI has continued to seek communication with the US Department of Defense, hoping to understand the specific reasons for being added to the list and to provide corresponding evidence, but these efforts have not received any substantive response.

In January 2024, the US Department of Defense updated the CMC list, continuing to retain DJI on the list. And on October 18, 2024, DJI officially filed a lawsuit to the US District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the US Department of Defense's decision. In September, US District Judge Paul Friedman rejected DJI's bid, according to a Reuters report.

DJI therefore lodged an appeal against the ruling on Tuesday, it told the Global Times.  

Global Times