China approves a law and a draft code of conduct to regulate the work of marches and artificial intelligence

China issued a law and draft code of conduct today to regulate the work of drones and artificial intelligence.

Official media reported that China had approved an amended law that, for the first time, officially regulates drone flights.

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China approved amendments to the Civil Aviation Law and added a clause regarding the airworthiness certificate of drones, filling a major regulatory gap.

The approval of this amendment came at a time when China’s low-altitude economy – a national strategic initiative focusing on commercial aerial activities below 3,000 metres – is expected to grow to more than 2 trillion yuan ($280 billion) by 2030, from 1.5 billion yuan.

Trillion yuan in 2025, according to estimates by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Peking University and the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Under the new rules that will come into effect on July 1, all entities involved in designing, producing, importing, maintaining and operating drones must obtain an airworthiness certificate.

China has implemented “temporary regulations” for drones starting in 2024, stipulating that civilian marches must be registered with real names.

The regulations also stipulated that small, light, and small unmanned civil aircraft do not need an airworthiness certificate, while medium and large aircraft were obligated to apply to the Civil Aviation Authority to obtain that certificate.

Drone logistics services have become an important driver of China’s low-altitude economy, as 2.7 million packages containing various shipments from sandwich meals to life-saving medicines were delivered during 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Transport.

Meanwhile, the China Cyberspace Authority today issued draft rules to tighten oversight of artificial intelligence services designed to simulate human characters and emotional interaction with users.

The proposed rules will apply to artificial intelligence products and services provided to consumers in China that display human personality traits, thinking patterns, and communication methods that are simulated, and interact with users emotionally through texts, images, audio, video, or other means.

The draft sets out a regulatory approach that requires service providers to warn users against excessive use and to intervene when users show signs of addiction.

Under this proposal, service providers will bear safety responsibilities throughout the product life cycle and establish systems for reviewing algorithms, data security, and protecting personal information.

These procedures define red lines for content and behavior, and stipulate that service providers must not create content that would threaten national security, spread rumors, or promote violence or obscenity.