Drone Industry A Critical Piece of China’s $124 billion “New Silk Road”

When Chinese President Xi Jinping and 29 other heads of state agreed to an open economy and a policy of free and inclusive trade last month, the announcement rippled across industries.  But China’s “New Silk Road” – the multi-billion dollar initiative which will build new infrastructure and trade links across the globe – may boost the drone industry first.

China dominates drone manufacturing, both commercial and recreational.  Leading commercial manufacturer MMC has seen the country’s move towards an open trading system bring new relationships – and a steady stream of ambassador delegations from around the world.

MMC’s innovative hydrogen fuel cell drone, the Hydrone 1550 – a global first – solves a universal problem in flight endurance for commercial drones.  MMC has been a leader in bringing drone technology to energy projects in remote areas, and in providing innovative solutions in the law enforcement and security markets.  They provide the leading drone power-line stringing solution (the Spider) available.  And they’ve built a business around tackling not only the engineering challenges that drones offer but the business challenges: training, support, and customization. Those solutions have garnered attention – and this spring, delegations from around the world including Armenia, Syria, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Lithuania, the Philippines, Singapore, Russia, and Slovakia have visited MMC’s factory to learn more.

Delegations toured MMC’s factory and discussed developments in drone technology with MMC’s engineering team and top management.  “This meeting enhanced international exchange on innovative technology,” said MMC’s CEO Leo Liu, “and founded a good basis for international cooperation in the drone industry.”  President Xi’s recent announcement matches MMC’s policy of collaboration and open trade, which has helped them to grow at an exponential rate over the last two years.

“It is our hope through the Belt and Road development, we will unleash new economic forces for global growth, build new platforms for global development, and rebalance economic globalization so mankind will move closer to a community of common destiny,” President Xi said at the close of last months’s meetings.  Drone technology may be among the first of those new platforms and economic forces.

Alan Phillips

Alan is serial entrepreneur, active angel investor, and a drone enthusiast. He co-founded DRONELIFE.com to address the emerging commercial market for drones and drone technology. Prior to DRONELIFE.com, Alan co-founded Where.com, ThinkingScreen Media, and Nurse.com. Recently, Alan has co-founded Crowditz.com,  a leader in Equity Crowdfunding Data, Analytics, and Insights.  Alan can be reached at alan(at)dronelife.com