US DJI Illustration: Tang Tengfei/Global Times

Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed strong opposition on Friday to US Commerce Department's announcement of considering a new rule that could potentially lead to the restriction or ban of Chinese drones in the US citing national security concerns.

China stands firmly opposed to the US' overstretching the concept of national security, disrupting and restricting normal international trade and economic exchange, undermining global industrial and supply chains stability, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a routine press conference on Friday.

The US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced on Thursday (US time) that it is seeking public comments by March 4 on a rule to "safeguard the information and communication technology and services supply chain for unmanned aircraft systems, or drones," according to an online release.

The new rule claimed that commercial drones could be remotely accessed and manipulated by China and Russia, "exposing sensitive US data."

Public feedback is sought after on matters including potential processes for the public to request approval to engage in an otherwise prohibited transaction, according to the BIS.

China will take all necessary measures to firmly defend its legitimate and lawful rights and interests, Mao said.

The move by the US commerce department is yet another attempt to create protectionist barriers to promote the US domestic drone industry, using national security as a pretext, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), told the Global Times on Friday, noting that the success of Chinese drones in the US market is rooted in their superior quality and technological innovation.

"The US needs quality drones. For instance, for monitoring wildfires, a frequent occurrence in the US, firefighters need drones capable of flying in fumes and flames to perform critical tasks, and that's why they rely on Chinese-made drones, which maintain a technological lead over US alternatives," Lü said, adding that moves aimed at erecting US domestic drone manufacturing capabilities won't succeed.

With a deadline proposed by March 4, the US' latest announcement on Thursday is the latest in a series of attempts by US authorities to crack down on Chinese-made drones in recent years. 

Last month, President Joe Biden signed legislation that could ban China-based DJI and Autel Robotics, from selling new drone models in the US. An unspecified US agency must determine within one year if drones from DJI or Autel Robotics pose unacceptable national security risks, Reuters reported.

On December 19, DJI expressed concerns in its official online blog about being "singled out" in the subsequent risk assessment process in the US legislation and the lack of transparency.  

"The world economy has already been too deeply integrated for protectionist measures to remove cost-effective products from the market to succeed," Lü said, noting that the US authority should divert their attention and resources from setting up barriers to setting up incentives to encourage local innovation so that US companies could better compete effectively with their Chinese competitors.

Despite the political maneuvering of some US politicians to hit Chinese drones, there has been loud opposition from US users to any such moves.

US users are saying Chinese drones can't be easily replaced, the Associated Press reported in December.

Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Friday that Chinese commercial drones have already established a lead, with advantages in technology, the speed in rolling out upgrades and new models, as well as cost, noting that a sudden ban on Chinese drones would result in US consumers having limited alternative drones to use, hurting their interests.