On the afternoon of August 11, 2026, the Hongqiao International Central Legal Services District hosted the "Hongqiao Legal Series" event in Wuhu, titled "Hongqiao & Wuhu: Low-Altitude Economy Enterprise Overseas Compliance Training," held in the Wuhu City Wanzi District. This initiative marks a practical exploration by the legal services district to strategically deliver international legal resources to key industries in the Yangtze River Delta, representing a shift from interactive exchanges to tangible industrial empowerment between Shanghai and Wuhu. Participants included judicial administrative departments, customs officials, international legal experts from both cities, and representatives of low-altitude economy enterprises in Wuhu.

Leadership Remarks: Legal Synergy Fuels Industrial Global Expansion

The Deputy Director of the Wuhu Municipal Bureau of Justice highlighted in his address that Wuhu, as a vital hub for the Yangtze River Delta's low-altitude economy industry, faces strong demand for legal services such as export compliance. The Hongqiao International Central Legal Services District, he noted, gathers top-tier domestic and international legal resources and commercial compliance think tanks, creating complementary strengths and aligned needs between the two regions. This training session is a vivid example of precisely matching Wuhu's industrial needs with Hongqiao's legal resources, marking a substantive step in implementing a cross-regional legal coordination mechanism. He urged enterprises to view compliance as a core competitive asset, using compliance certainty to offset overseas risk uncertainty, and expressed hope for regular, institutionalized legal cooperation between Shanghai and Wuhu.

The Deputy Director of the Minhang District Bureau of Justice stated that the legal services district consistently adheres to its functional positioning of "serving the Yangtze River Delta, reaching across the nation, and connecting globally." Significant achievements have been made in resource sharing and talent cultivation in collaboration with the Wuhu Municipal Bureau of Justice. The low-altitude economy is a strategic emerging industry and a key track for Yangtze River Delta integration. With 190 legal and legal-related institutions already operating within the district, it has the capability and responsibility to bring compliance policy analysis, export operation guidance, and risk prevention solutions from Hongqiao to Wuhu, directly to the enterprises. Moving forward, the district will continue to extend its legal services from "gathering in Hongqiao" to "radiating across the Yangtze River Delta," fostering more collaborative outcomes in fields like low-altitude economy compliance, training international legal talent, and resolving cross-border commercial disputes.

Platform Introduction: A One-Stop Service for Enterprise Global Expansion

A staff member from the Hongqiao Legal Services District's comprehensive service center delivered a presentation on "Hongqiao's Legal Empowerment for Yangtze River Delta Enterprises Going Global." She systematically outlined the various challenges enterprises face in international expansion, including cross-border commercial disputes, compliance and regulatory risks, and protection of trade secrets and intellectual property. Drawing on case studies such as a Chinese company successfully defending its trade secrets in the US, recovering funds through cross-border photovoltaic trade arbitration, and overcoming compliance hurdles in the commercial aerospace sector, she demonstrated the district's professional capabilities in areas like cross-border dispute resolution, international notarization, and intellectual property protection.

Professional Exchange: Four Key Dimensions Address Enterprise Compliance Pain Points

This training session integrated the expertise of institutions within the Hongqiao Legal Services District, practical resources from Wuhu Customs, and international commercial legal experts. It focused on key compliance aspects for low-altitude economy enterprises expanding overseas.

1. Interpretation of Dual-Use Item Export Control Policies

A partner from Shanghai Songjia Law Firm, an institution within the legal services district, provided a systematic explanation of the latest export control rules, including Ministry of Commerce Announcement No. 51. She noted that in 2025, China's customs authorities reported 331 administrative penalty cases related to export controls, a 263% increase year-on-year. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and related components have become the third most common category of controlled items. The determination of control status is based on the actual technical parameters of the item and whether it triggers comprehensive controls, not directly linked to product name, marketing positioning, or customs classification codes. She debunked five common misconceptions, such as "items not on the control list can be freely exported" and "splitting components for export is not a violation," and used real penalty cases to recommend that enterprises establish a five-step pre-export process and a long-term post-export compliance mechanism.

2. Customs Supervision and Return Policy Practices

A second-level officer from the Wuhu Customs Inspection Division used UAVs as a case study to review new regulations, including General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 78. He analyzed common misconceptions like "civilian use is not subject to controls," "splitting components bypasses permits," and "entrusting a freight forwarder absolves responsibility." Through typical penalty cases, he warned of the consequences of non-compliance and introduced the voluntary disclosure policy, encouraging enterprises to self-check and proactively report issues.

The head of the Wuhu Customs Comprehensive Business Division Section One explained the export cargo return policy, covering six scenarios for returned goods and applicable supervision codes. He emphasized the legal conditions for duty-free re-importation of exported goods and the basis, conditions, and documentation for tax rebates on re-exported imported goods, clarifying the differences between compensatory goods and returned goods.

3. International Trade Compliance and Cross-Border IP Risk Management

The Director of the International Intellectual Property Department at Duan & Duan (Hongqiao International Central Business District) Law Firm, an institution within the legal services district, pointed out that the global expansion of the low-altitude economy involves a fourfold risk: export controls, economic sanctions, cross-border data flows, and intellectual property. He outlined seven major compliance rule systems, analyzed the 2026 UAV control policy, and discussed the application of long-arm jurisdiction in the low-altitude sector. Regarding cross-border intellectual property, he focused on US Section 337 investigations, TROs in cross-border e-commerce, trademark squatting risks, and strategies for balancing patents and trade secrets. He proposed a principle of "rights first, market later" and recommended that enterprises build risk firewalls embedded in business processes and oriented toward decision-makers.

4. Compliance Challenges for Aviation Enterprises in International Expansion

A specially-appointed expert from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade's Commercial Legal Service Center argued that the global expansion of the low-altitude economy involves the systematic cross-border flow of capital, technology, personnel, and data across multiple jurisdictions. Limiting compliance to "customs declaration plus permits" is a critical mistake. She constructed a five-stage governance model covering overseas decision-making, investment implementation, local market access, local operations, and risk response. She identified dual-use technology controls, airspace sovereignty review, sensitive geographic data management, and supply chain coordination as four special compliance dimensions. She also explained ODI filing, airworthiness certification, local operations, intellectual property and employment anti-corruption, and dispute resolution mechanism selection, demonstrating the commercial value of proactive compliance through practical case studies.

Interactive Q&A: Precisely Addressing Enterprise Needs

During the interactive Q&A session, enterprise representatives actively raised questions about determining dual-use items, practical export declaration procedures, processes for handling returned goods, overseas intellectual property strategy, and airworthiness certification pathways in target countries. On-site experts from various fields provided detailed answers, fostering a lively exchange.

This training is a concrete step in implementing the comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement between Shanghai and Wuhu and a valuable attempt by the Hongqiao Legal Services District to extend international legal service resources to the industrial front line of the Yangtze River Delta. Using this Wuhu event as a starting point, the district will promote the regular alignment of international legal services with the needs of key industries in the Yangtze River Delta, providing solid legal support for enterprises going global. The core area of the legal services district spans 3.7 square kilometers, houses 190 legal and legal-related service institutions, and has established partnerships with 13 universities. It offers a "one-stop" legal service system encompassing cross-border commercial dispute resolution, international notarization, intellectual property protection, export control compliance, cross-border data compliance, and legal technology empowerment. The "Hongqiao Legal Series" will continue to target key industries across the three provinces and one city of Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui, aiming to build a distinctive "Hongqiao Brand" for legal services in the Yangtze River Delta.