BEIJING: China is tightening controls on export of some drones and powerful computers and will require firms to register to ensure they do not “compromise national security”, according to state media.
From August 15, manufacturers of certain powerful drones and computers would have to give technical details to the authorities to obtain a licence prior to export, Xinhua news agency said.
The new regulations from the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs are aimed in particular at drones which can fly for more than an hour and at heights of more than 15,420 metres (50,000 feet).
In the first five months of this year, China exported some 160,000 civilian drones, a jump of 70 per cent year-on-year, worth more than $120 million, the official China Daily newspaper reported last month.
Leading Chinese maker DJI dominates the global market. But the manufacturing giant has ensured its products “were not involved in these (new) export controls”, according to a statement carried by Chinese media, suggesting the government was mainly interested in restricting export of military technology.
The tightening of regulations comes two weeks after an incident in which the Pakistan Army shot down an Indian spy drone.
China is also likely tightening controls on export of powerful computers as it looks to maintain its edge in the global supercomputer battle long dominated by US-Japanese rivalry.
Since June 2013 China’s Tianhe-2 has headed the TOP500 list of the world’s most powerful computers, with the machine capable of 33.86 petaflops (quadrillions of calculations per second).
