Chinese developers of drones, flying taxis set sights on US, even with high tariffs

Chinese developers of small aircraft for uncrewed low-altitude cargo and passenger flights are exploring foreign markets for long-term diversification, including the United States despite newly imposed 145 per cent import tariffs.

An expected rise in demand abroad has put countries from Brazil to the United Arab Emirates on the radars of Chinese firms that make everything from drones the size of a tablet PC to self-piloting e-taxis that can seat a person.

“The acceptance rate is higher [overseas] than in China,” said Lu Yong, production director with He Fei Hei Airlines, a Chinese company working in a joint venture to build automated helicopter-like pods for aerial tourism. “They think it’s a new product.”

His company has already sold its aircraft to 19 countries including Mexico, Spain and Thailand. He Fei Hei Airlines, based in eastern China’s Anhui province, showed videos of the aircraft in action alongside 2,800 other exhibitors at the InnoEX tech show in Hong Kong this week.

Some Chinese exhibitors had their sights on the American market, notwithstanding US President Donald Trump’s imposition of record-setting import tariffs this month.

Shenzhen Zero Zero Infinity Technology has long sold its drones in the US as well as Europe, and plans to stay in both places, a company spokeswoman said. The firm is banking on its drones’ quick take-off speeds and use of artificial intelligence to capture a share of the market.

Competitive pricing could also support Chinese low-altitude aircraft sales abroad, said Jayant Menon, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.