CRI听力:Insiders: Drone-Computer Exports Control Necessary

Latest stats show that of every 10 civil drones sold worldwide, 7 are produced in China.

Wang Yanan, associate Editor-in-Chief with monthly magazine Aerospace Knowledge, says China has been on the leading-edge in the development of both military and civilian drone technology.

"Both military and civilian-run companies have been hard at work developing drones. Many civilian drone makers, thanks to easy access to capital and technological advantages, have come up with excellent products, which have really advanced the domestic drone market. At this point, China is dominating drone technologies."

But this rapid advancement in drone development also has some observers concerned.

Professor Huang Jun with aerospace-focused Beihang University suggests the regulations currently in-place aren't tight enough when it comes to national security.

"Drone development in our country has been both fast and rampant. Drones can serve multiple civilian and military purposes. Many of the drone makers in China aren't really concerned with profits, and are more interested in the technology. But if they don't care about profits, they might be less-cautious about who has access to their designs, including terrorists. This could be a black mark for China if the technology gets into the wrong hands."

It's concerns like these which have prompted the Chinese government to bring in new restrictions on which types of drones can be exported out of China.

Mei Yuxin with the Ministry of Commerce insists the new policies will have a limited impact on domestic drone manufacturers.

"Overall, the new restrictions will have limited effect. The rules mainly target drones that can fly over 15-thousand meters above the ground and for longer than one hour. Drones of this nature only account for a small percentage of the country's annual drone exports, which have hit 2 trillion US dollars."

New regulations being brought in also include restrictions on computer exports.

Computers which have 8 tera floating-point operations per second, or 8 teraflops, will not be allowed out of China.

The Commerce Ministry's Mei Yuxin says computers of this capacity could be dangerous in the wrong hands.

"It goes without saying that supercomputers are of significant strategic importance, particularly in nuclear weapon development. We can't allow ourselves to sell these kinds of tools to our rivals or those plotting to undermine peace."

The new restrictions will take effect on August 15th.

Companies which manufacture drones or computers are going to be required to register with the commerce authorities and get a license before delivery.

They are also being required to provide copies of their export contracts, as well as documents showing their products' technical specifications and who they're going to be selling them to.

Manufacturers who violate the rules could be subject to criminal prosecution.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.