China has expanded restrictions on the export of military drones intended for military use, as Beijing faces growing criticism from the United States and its allies for supporting Russia's military operations in Ukraine. This was reported by Bloomberg, according to UNN.
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On Wednesday, a number of Chinese agencies, including the Central Military Commission, blacklisted drones with high-precision measuring equipment. The changes come into effect on September 1.
Although officials have lifted the ban on exports of consumer-grade drones, the country's Commerce Ministry reiterated its position that civilian equipment should not be used for “proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, or military purposes.
Bloomberg notes that China has tightened its drone export rules a few days after Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba visited the country for the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion.
Beijing has repeatedly opposed Western criticism that it sends Moscow dual-use goods with military applications.
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Recently, European officials claimed that Chinese and Russian companies are developing an attack dronesimilar to the Iranian model used by Russia to attack Ukraine. China has denied the allegations, saying that the country has not supplied weapons to any party to the Ukrainian conflict and strictly controls the export of dual-use goods.