Last updated: 7 hours ago
image source,Archyde.com
DJI, headquartered in Shenzhen, has operations in more than 100 countries around the world. DJI drones are widely used in agriculture, surveying and mapping, emergency response, water conservancy and many other fields.
Chinese drone giant DJI (Dji) has become the first major Chinese company to cease operations in Russia and Ukraine more than two months following Russia launched its war on Ukraine.
On April 26, DJI issued a statement on its English official website, saying: “DJI is internally re-evaluating the compliance requirements of various jurisdictions. During the current review period, DJI will temporarily suspend all operations in Russia and Ukraine. business activities.”
“We are engaging with customers, partners and other stakeholders regarding the temporary suspension of business operations in the affected areas,” the statement added.
Under what background did DJI suspend business in Russia and Ukraine? BBC Chinese combs the following three points of view:
1. Background of DJI’s suspension of business in Russia and Ukraine
Before DJI announced the suspension of its business in Russia and Ukraine, many multinational companies had already announced the suspension of their business in Russia, in solidarity with Ukraine, which was under Russian military aggression.
Before the simultaneous suspension of operations in Russia and Ukraine, DJI issued another statement on April 21, saying: “DJI has always only produced civilian products, not designed for military use.”
The statement also specified that DJI “does not promote or sell products for military use”, “does not provide following-sales service for products identified as being used for military purposes”, “opposes attempts to install weapons on products”, ” Refusing to customize or modify products for military use.”
After Russia invaded Ukraine, there were reports of both sides using DJI drones to take part in military operations.
On March 16, Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov of UkraineTwitterZhongzhi wrote to Wang Tao, president and founder of DJI, hoping that DJI would stop its business in Russia and provide some data to help Ukraine.
In addition, he also hopes that DJI can open the AeroScope (Chinese name Yunhuo) function for users in Ukraine, and close the AeroScope function and other DJI products for users in other countries such as Russia.
DJI responded to Fedorov’s Twitter thread, saying that if the Ukrainian government is willing to formally request the establishment of a geographic fence, DJI will cooperate, but all DJI drones in the country will not work.
Then, on March 27, DJI drone products were removed from the shelves of MediaMarkt, Germany’s largest electronic retailer, which attracted outside attention.
Therefore, DJI once stated to the Chinese domestic media, “The statement that DJI is unilaterally opening up to Russia is nonsense, and DJI’s civilian drones cannot directly guide missiles, and Russia does not need to rely on the functions provided by DJI. Operator location traceability.”
DJI also issued a statement saying: “The social media accounts of DJI and its global partners have been attacked by a concerted navy swipe attack, which slandered DJI’s inappropriate behavior in the international situation, and brought harm to the multi-party social media operations. Troubled.”
2. DJI
Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Shenzhen, DJI Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. claims to “has developed into a leader in technology, imaging and educational solutions in the era of spatial intelligence.”
image source,Archyde.com
This time Russia invaded Ukraine, and the photos taken by drones gave the outside world a better understanding of the war situation.
DJI’s business has developed from the initial drone system to handheld imaging systems, robot education, intelligent driving and other fields.
According to the information on DJI’s official website, the company has 14,000 employees worldwide. In addition to its headquarters in Shenzhen, it has offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Rotterdam, Frankfurt and other places, and has more than 100 offices around the world. Countries and regions have sales and service networks.
According to reports, DJI has a market share of over 80% in the global civilian drone market, with a valuation of over $20 billion.
Founder Wang Tao said in the company’s message: “DJI is a child who dares to tell the truth.” “We firmly believe in hard work rather than speculation, and believe in dreams rather than utility. We are willing to do difficult but truly valuable things, starting from the very beginning. It has never changed since the beginning.”
It is worth mentioning that the statement issued by DJI to suspend business in Russia and Ukraine this time was published on its website.English website。
Xie Tiandi, director of public relations at DJI, announced the statement on his Weibo account and explained: “This matter only needs to be notified to overseas partners involved in the business of Russia and Ukraine. It was discovered last night that some Weibo netizens had begun to discuss it. , and the information quoted is inaccurate, so it is added in Chinese. This is a trivial matter of DJI’s internal review, and it is not worth mentioning.”
At the end of 2021, DJI will be listed by the United States as a sanctioned Chinese technology company due to human rights issues in Xinjiang.
3. International media response
International media are very concerned regarding DJI’s statement that it suspends business in Russia and Ukraine.
The Financial Times said in a report, “The products of the world’s largest drone manufacturer are used by both sides in the war to look down on the front lines and detect the position of the battle. But Beijing’s support for Moscow and the close relationship between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin , putting Chinese companies in a bind.”
“Outside the country, they are condemned for supplying Russia and under threat of tougher U.S. sanctions, while at home they have to align themselves with the government.”
The Washington Post reported that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased scrutiny of DJI amid fears that Beijing’s close geopolitical partnership with Moscow might become an obstacle for DJI to prevent its products from being used by the Russian military.
“For Chinese conglomerates with international influence, continuing to do business in Russia might mean lost access to more important markets in Europe and North America if they end up being the target of secondary sanctions by Western governments,” the report said. Chinese companies with operations in Russia have chosen to remain silent on their plans, while some have quietly adjusted their operations to minimize their presence in Russia.”
