A drone sprays pesticide above a field in Zhongtang Village of Heshan District in Yiyang, central China's Hunan Province, on April 21, 2023. Agricultral machines such as rice transplanter, rotary tiller and drones have helped streamlining the spring ploughing here.(Photo: Xinhua)

China has released a provisional regulation on drones, from their designing and production to flying, to prevent safety risks and facilitate the development of related industries with the preservation of aviation safety, public safety and national security as its core.

Issued by China's State Council and Central Military Commission, the regulation on the outdoor flight management of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will come into effect in 2024.

According to the regulation, drones cannot be used to film military facilities, distribute propaganda materials containing laws-violating contents or leak the country's secrets and data to overseas entities. Foreign UAVs or those operated by foreign personnel are not allowed to engage in flight activities such as mapping and radio parameter testing on China's territory.

The forbidden flying areas for UAVs included airspace near the airports, national boundaries, military administrative zones, gas station, power plants, storage areas of inflammables and explosives, as well as major revolutionary memorial sites and immovable cultural relics, said the regulation.

To enhance quality monitoring of UAVs' design, production, maintenance and assembly, the regulation requires an identification code for each product and qualifications for users and operators.