Beijing has launched a drone research hub in Tibet near Mount Everest in an effort to exploit its high-altitude advantage in the ongoing competition for technological dominance between the US and China.
The Plateau Drone R&D Application Centre was recently unveiled by Xizang University, state news agency Xinhua reported earlier this month. Xizang is the official Chinese pinyin name for the Tibet autonomous region in western China.
Situated on the Chinese side of the world’s highest peak, the centre represents the country’s first research and application platform dedicated to drones operating at high altitude.
It also supports Beijing’s broader push for low-altitude economic development and industrial growth across autonomous regions, according to the university.
Several senior military officials from aviation rescue and emergency response teams attended the centre’s opening ceremony.
It followed the launch in September last year of China’s first high-altitude uncrewed equipment test base in Ngari prefecture, also known as Ali, a strategically important region in western Tibet bordering India.