The total volume of China's registered drones reached 1.27 million as of the end of 2023, increasing by 32.2% year-on-year, according to Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The rapid growth of the drone industry in China will be a long-lasting trend and is expected to be accelerated in the future, Wang Yanan, Chief Editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times, adding that there will be more types of civilian drones used in more industries. “China's leading manufacturing capability can produce nearly every type of drone, and can support the rapid growth of the industry,” he noted. In 2023, the accumulated flight hours of China's civilian drones reached 23.11 million hours, up 11.8% year-on-year. Drones have been widely deployed in the sectors of agriculture, forestry, livestock farming and fishery, as well as entertainment and photography.
Concerning military drones, China has issued strict regulations on drone exports and taken concrete measures to maintain global security. Chinese authorities in July 2023 issued two notices implementing export controls on certain unmanned aerial vehicles and related items, at a time when drones for civilian use are increasingly being converted for military purposes.
China has designated Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, as the nexus of its unmanned equipment industry – a part of broader efforts to spearhead technological advancement and advance its plans to be a global player in drones, autonomous vehicles and civil aviation. Nansha, a district in Guangzhou, has been selected to develop a citywide management system for unmanned vehicles as well as industry standards for the “low-altitude economy”, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s top economic planner. The district has also been encouraged to “take bold moves” in research and transform the discoveries into marketable products. Supportive policies have driven the rapid growth of China’s “low-altitude economy”, which Beijing listed as a strategic emerging industry. The term refers to a wide range of industries centered around manned and unmanned vehicles usually operating below an altitude of 1,000 meters.
