Beijing Criticizes US' Scrutiny of Chinese drones

China reacted on Friday as the U.S. considered rules that could impose restrictions on Chinese drones in the U.S. out of security concerns.

The economic and technological rivalry between the United States and China has come to the drone market, where Chinese-made flying devices are a dominant player.

Lawmakers in Washington are seeking to ban new sales of drones from two dominant Chinese manufacturers, arguing they could be used to spy on Americans and that the low-cost models are hurting the U.S. drone industry.

A defence bill that passed Congress would bar new Chinese drones from DJI Technology and Autel Robotics should a review find them to pose an “unacceptable” risk to U.S. national security.

The Commerce Department said on Thursday that it was seeking public feedback by March 4 on these potential rules, highlighting risks from China and Russia that could allow adversaries to access or manipulate drones, potentially compromising sensitive U.S. data.

Asked about the move at a daily news conference in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said “China firmly opposes the U.S. overstretching the concept of national security to interfere in and restrict normal economic and trade exchanges and disrupt the security and stability of global supply chains.”

She added that China would take “necessary measures” to secure national interests but did not detail the potential responses.

Mao also justified China’s export control announced Thursday against 28 U.S. entities as a measure taken based on the country’s needs and international practices.

The restriction bars exports of dual-use items to the listed companies, including General Dynamics, Boeing Defence, Space & Security and Lockheed Martin Corporation, according to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

Separately, Mao announced that Foreign Minister Wang Yi would visit Namibia, the Republic of the Congo, Chad and Nigeria from January 5 to 11.

This would be the 35th consecutive year that a Chinese foreign minister had visited African countries on the first overseas trip at the start of the year, Mao said.

Asked about the reported surge of respiratory illness across China in recent months, Mao said winter was usually “the season for respiratory infections” and the country’s health administration has held a briefing recently to detail prevention measures.

“Currently, the scale and intensity of the epidemic are lower than last year. What I can tell you is that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the health of Chinese people and foreign citizens in China, and traveling to China is safe,” Mao said.