They have some of the biggest drone companies in the world – now it seems China wants the supporting infrastructure for drone technology to show for it.

Reuters has reported that the Civil Aviation Authority of China today gazetted a roadmap for development of its civilian drone industry, saying it wanted to boost their use in inner-city logistics and eventually for long-haul goods transport.

This should be sweet news to the ears of drone logistics companies in China like EHang, which has been proving the worth of its passenger and cargo drones in mostly foreign lands; joining consortiums in Europe that are geared towards the safe integration of unmanned aerial vehicles in busy urban airspaces.

Other Chinese companies that have developed delivery drone capabilities include JD.com and Meituan; the latter of which made its first delivery order in January last, and has to date reached 8,000 customers in Shenzhen, a city where streets are crowded with cars.

Meituan’s deliveries were made under a pilot program that includes 10 neighbourhoods and four business districts, delivering meals to kiosks that are easily accessible to customers.

Meituan has also announced plans to construct a pilot centre in Shanghai for its drone logistics network.

“The proposed plan by the Civil Aviation Administration of China detailed various targets the regulator wanted its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry to reach by the years 2025, 2030 and 2035, including improving regulations and expanding airspace capacity for civilian UAVs,” Reuters reported.

“Several companies in China have for years explored the use of drones or box-like robots on wheels to deliver parcels but widespread adoption has been slow amid regulatory hurdles and heavy reliance on human couriers.

“The goal is to “enhance China’s international competitiveness in the field of unmanned aviation as well as the country’s right to speak on international civil aviation rules and standards…and reach the goal of becoming a global civil aviation power,” it said.

The CAAC said the latest roadmap was open to public comment until the fifth of September.

Unless the rules are made more friendly in China; delivery drones will still have to contend with really stiff competition from other forms of delivery in the country, which include autonomous vehicles and delivery robots. They currently hold an advantage over the drones in that they can carry a larger number of packages and use larger batteries.