5 ms·

I wonder if China's more lax regulations aren't a big win for Alibaba and improves their ability to go to market faster than Amazon will with drove delivery.

pavel_lishin 12y ago
Doesn't Amazon also do business in China? Couldn't they do the same thing, under the same regulations? (Unless what I'm hearing is true, and being a non-Chinese company is a big hindrance.)
- Phlarp 12y ago
  Being a non-chinese company is a big hindrance.
- chriskanan 12y ago
  That's probably correct, and it is similar to what Amazon is threatening to do because they are blocked from doing more drone delivery research outside in the US by the FAA: http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/9/7359409/amazon-slams-FAA-for-restrictive-drone-laws http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/9/7359409/amazon-slams-FAA-f...
houshuang 12y ago
They have more lax regulations about some things, but apparently civil aviation is extremely tightly regulated, with most of the country set aside for military aviation (James Fallows has written about this). I'm sure they'd be wary of all their civilians runnings drones, filming things that shouldn't be seen, etc as well.
howlingfantods 12y ago
Chinese airspace is highly regulated, especially in the cities mentioned. Theoretically, every single drone flight has to be reported and registered with multiple military and civil agencies. Enforcement is a different story.
drzaiusapelord 12y ago
How is the communist regime's governance in China "lax?" There's probably significant worry on the part of the CCP to keep drones controlled as they may see and record things that are politically inconvenient for this autocratic regime like political prisoners being abused or heavy-handed riot police action. Chinese aerospace laws, from a casual googling, seem to be very strict as well, and geared towards favoritism for their military. If drones take off anywhere, I imagine it will be in the most transparent countries, like the ultra-liberal Scandinavian democracies. I doubt drones are autocrat friendly for obvious reasons. I also imagine there's a nice middle ground between planes and rc hobbyists with defined paths and lots of rules that will eventually shake-out in many countries. Drone delivery just makes a lot of sense ,perhaps not so much with toothpaste, but with, say blood or organ delivery where a proper helicopter costs many times more and an accident is lethal. A drone accident is just a lost resource.
- pagnotta 12y ago
  "heavy-handed riot police action" This is much more likely to happen in the US than in China
- rsynnott 12y ago
  Chinese regulations are often very strict. And often also very, very poorly-enforced, unless there's sufficient public unhappiness about them.

pavel_lishin 12y ago

Doesn't Amazon also do business in China? Couldn't they do the same thing, under the same regulations? (Unless what I'm hearing is true, and being a non-Chinese company is a big hindrance.)

Phlarp 12y ago
Being a non-chinese company is a big hindrance.
chriskanan 12y ago
That's probably correct, and it is similar to what Amazon is threatening to do because they are blocked from doing more drone delivery research outside in the US by the FAA: http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/9/7359409/amazon-slams-FAA-for-restrictive-drone-laws http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/9/7359409/amazon-slams-FAA-f...

houshuang 12y ago

They have more lax regulations about some things, but apparently civil aviation is extremely tightly regulated, with most of the country set aside for military aviation (James Fallows has written about this). I'm sure they'd be wary of all their civilians runnings drones, filming things that shouldn't be seen, etc as well.

howlingfantods 12y ago

Chinese airspace is highly regulated, especially in the cities mentioned. Theoretically, every single drone flight has to be reported and registered with multiple military and civil agencies. Enforcement is a different story.

drzaiusapelord 12y ago

How is the communist regime's governance in China "lax?" There's probably significant worry on the part of the CCP to keep drones controlled as they may see and record things that are politically inconvenient for this autocratic regime like political prisoners being abused or heavy-handed riot police action. Chinese aerospace laws, from a casual googling, seem to be very strict as well, and geared towards favoritism for their military. If drones take off anywhere, I imagine it will be in the most transparent countries, like the ultra-liberal Scandinavian democracies. I doubt drones are autocrat friendly for obvious reasons. I also imagine there's a nice middle ground between planes and rc hobbyists with defined paths and lots of rules that will eventually shake-out in many countries. Drone delivery just makes a lot of sense ,perhaps not so much with toothpaste, but with, say blood or organ delivery where a proper helicopter costs many times more and an accident is lethal. A drone accident is just a lost resource.

pagnotta 12y ago
"heavy-handed riot police action" This is much more likely to happen in the US than in China
rsynnott 12y ago
Chinese regulations are often very strict. And often also very, very poorly-enforced, unless there's sufficient public unhappiness about them.