China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday urged the United States to immediately repeal its Section 232 tariff measures on Chinese drones and drone parts, saying the measures severely harm the interests of Chinese enterprises and disrupt global cooperation in drone industrial and supply chains. China has consistently maintained that the U.S. Section 232 measures constitute unilateralism and protectionism carried out under the pretext of "national security," said commerce ministry spokesperson He Yadong at a regular media conference in Beijing in response to a question concerning the U.S. decision to impose the tariffs.
"In fact, Chinese drones exported to the United States are mainly used in civilian applications, including agriculture, equipment inspection, and film and television entertainment," He said.
"The U.S. Section 232 measures overstretch the concept of national security, impose differentiated tariff rates on trading partners, and discriminate against relevant Chinese products. They severely undermine the interests of Chinese enterprises, disrupte the cooperative order of global drone industrial and supply chains, and further undermine the fair competitive market environment. China firmly opposes this. We urge the U.S. to immediately repeal the relevant Section 232 tariff measures," said the spokesman.
China urges U.S. to immediately repeal Section 232 tariffs on Chinese drones, drone parts
China is continuing to experience a box office boom this year, driven by a nationwide campaign to spur consumption with cheaper cinema tickets while a series of big summer releases are also enticing film fans out to theaters up and down the country.
Seen as one of the most lucrative periods of the year, China's summer box office season, which officially runs from June 1 to August 31, has now generated more than 10.7 billion yuan in box office revenue as of midday Thursday.
This has helped propel China's total box office revenue for 2026 above 26.5 billion yuan (over 3.9 billion U.S. dollars) as of Thursday afternoon, with more than 670 million moviegoers and over 96 million screenings recorded, according to the latest data from a leading Chinese ticketing platform.
The diverse line-up of summer blockbusters covers a broad range of genres, including comedy, animation, sci-fi, war, and suspense and action, offering audiences more choices and helping attract viewers from different age groups and with different interests.
Among the best performers is the anti-war film "Once Upon a Time in the Middle East," which tells the story of a chef working at a Chinese restaurant in the Middle East when war breaks out in the 2000s. It has drawn positive feedback both for its perspective on war and the vivid portrayal of life in the Middle East.
In just 10 days since its release on Aug. 11, the film has raked in over 1.2 billion yuan, catapulting it up the box office charts as it closes in on the year's biggest grossing films.
Ticketing data shows that the current top four on China's annual box office chart are the auto-racing sequel "Pegasus 3", Hong Kong director Stephen Chow's sports comedy "Kung Fu Soccer" about a team of female footballers, the touching family drama "Dear You", and animated film "All Wishes Come True!"
China launched a nationwide campaign this year to boost the cinema sector, with at least 1.2 billion yuan in subsidies planned throughout 2026 to make movie-going more affordable. Data shows the average ticket price for domestic-made movies has dropped to 39.5 yuan (less than 6 U.S. dollars) this year, some 20 percent lower in 2025.
China's summer film season continues as consumption campaign entices moviegoers
