Xi to meet Thai PM in Lima

Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in Lima on Friday.

Xi arrived in Peru's capital Lima on Thursday for the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and a state visit to the Latin American country at the invitation of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.

Scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Lima under the theme "Empower, Include, Grow," the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will gather leaders from 21 member economies across the Asia-Pacific, including the United States and China, as well as other major economies in Southeast Asia.

Chinese enterprises have brought their latest anti-drone equipment capable to be applied in different scenarios to the ongoing 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, a coastal city of south China's Guangdong Province.

A newly developed unmanned combat vehicle by Tellhow Group Co., Ltd., a Jiangxi-based high-tech enterprise, made its debut in the indoor exhibition area of the biennial aerospace trade event, also known as Zhuhai Airshow, which is specially designed for defensive strikes against low-altitude drones.

"We have two main methods for targeting low-altitude slow small drones. The first one, as you can see in the box below, is to use electromagnetic interference and communication suppression. If it defends against such methods and come closer to a range of 300 meters, we will use the rapid-fire guns to conduct a physical strike," said Luo Xinjie, an employee from Tellhow.

Not only is there a single display of anti-drone equipment, at the booth of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), a backbone state-owned enterprise covering all fields in electronic information, there is also a systemic application of anti-drone equipment.

"This is a portable equipment that is easy to carry and install. As you can see, we have various of interference means through radar, photoelectricity and electronics, to ensure that the drones can be intercepted or driven away. The systematic application is particularly suitable for [scenarios in] cities, like building an anti-drone combat system on the roof," said Yan Deheng, a technical expert from CETC.

In addition to fixed equipment, CETC has also showcased a vehicle-mounted anti-drone equipment, which can achieve defense and counterattack while moving.

"Here we have a new anti-drone method. This is a launch box for interceptor drones, from which drones are ejected to collide with incoming drones, preventing them from approaching our defense targets. Each launch box has eight drones, and we have four groups of a total of 32 drones [on a vehicle]. They can be launched very quickly, so even if there were a relatively large number of drone attacks, we could also respond effectively," said Yan.

The premier aviation event has attracted 1,022 companies from 47 countries and regions this year, with Russia, France, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Italy participating in the air show in groups. Opening on Tuesday, the airshow is scheduled to last through Sunday.