New Chinese restrictions target drone supply chains, vital for Ukraine defense

Chinese manufacturers have recently begun restricting sales of key drone components to the US and Europe, Bloomberg reports, citing multiple sources familiar with the developments. According to these sources, Beijing is expected to implement broader export restrictions on drone parts in early 2025.

Drones play a crucial role in Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression, but China’s 2023 export restrictions on long-range civilian drones, requiring special permissions, have tightened their availability. Amid US-China tensions in 2024, China sanctioned US drone firms, while the US heightened scrutiny of Chinese makers like DJI, disrupting global drone markets.

The new rules may include license approvals based on intended use or requirements for Chinese companies to notify the government of shipment plans.

The restrictions have already impacted both US and European companies, with Chinese producers of motors, batteries, and flight controllers either capping quantities or halting shipments entirely, sources told Bloomberg.

“I hear a story like that every two or three days,” Lorenz Meier, chief executive officer of Auterion, told Bloomberg. “I’m sure it will escalate over time to new restrictions.”

The move comes amid escalating trade tensions between China and the US. On 5 December, China added 13 US companies to its sanctions list, including Shield AI Inc., a startup producing autonomous aircraft active in Ukraine.

China controls nearly 80% of the commercial drone market, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Many Ukrainian UAV producers rely on Chinese parts for their defense operations.

The US State Department’s acting Head of the Office of Sanctions Coordination, Tom West, expressed deep concern about China’s support of the Russian defense industry and component transfers for attack drones.

“The PRC (the People’s Republic of China, – Ed.) outpaces every country in the world in these exports, fueling Russia’s wanton destruction of Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure,” West said in a statement.

Multiple US government agencies are monitoring the situation, Bloomberg reports, with the Departments of State and Commerce working to source alternative supplies of brushless motors, batteries, and magnets.

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