This Day, That Year

Editor's Note: This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up policy.

Since the first unmanned coaxial (twin rotors above each other) helicopter developed by the Beihang University in Beijing completed its maiden flight in January 1996, China has grown into the world's largest manufacturer of commercial drones.

Last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released a guideline on the civilian UAV sector, expecting its market value to rise 40 percent per year on average to 60 billion yuan ($9.2 billion) by 2020.