Agricultural Machinery Technicians (third from left-RRB- explain to pilots the safety requirements and precautions of unmanned aerial vehicUAV-RRB-uav) operaQumiaon qumiao village, letBozhou,MengchengeCountyg Anhuiy, anhui province recently. Photograph by Hu Weiguo (people’s photos)
“The drones go back and forth in the air, flying their designated routes. Some people are taking ‘air taxis’ , some are delivering emergency relief, and takeout food and packages are dropping from the sky. These sci-fi plots are coming true in China.” An article on the website of the singapore-based Lianhe Zaobao magazine describes the“Low-flying economy” in various parts of China. The report pointed out that the“Low-altitude economy” as a new track has become a new economic growth point in many parts of China.
In 2024, the“Low-flying economy” was written into the government work report for the first time. In the past year, from the central to local governments, support policies have been intensively introduced. China’s“Low-altitude economy” is gathering momentum and has attracted high attention from overseas media. According to Civil Aviation Administration of China estimates, the size of the Chinese“Low-altitude economy” market will reach 1.5 trillion yuan by 2025 and is expected to reach 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035.
People fly in the sky, cargo line in the air, the application of increasingly diverse scenarios
“People fly in the sky, cargo line in the air.”. At present, the application scenarios of“Low-altitude economy” continue to expand.
Singapore Lianhe Zaobao noted a few specific examples: China Enterprise Fengfei Airlines’ sheng shi long, an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, took just 20 minutes, it took Meituan just 6 minutes and 37 seconds to deliver a cup of hot pear soup to the Beijing Badaling. The report pointed out that in addition to“Air taxis,” drones delivering takeout and relief supplies, “Low-altitude economy” can also be used for efficient logistics, aerial mapping, agriculture and Forestry Plant Protection, tourism, Port Management, maritime patrol, patrol inspection, etc. .
As of December, Meituan had 2024 more than 400,000 orders from 53 Chinese cities, according to the Russian newspaper The Independent. The service provides customers with a wide range of delivery options in different locations: from offices, residential areas, libraries to tourist attractions such as the Great Wall of China. Modern airships are also part of China’s“Low-altitude economy”. Last August, China’s civilian manned airship xiangyun AS700 made its first test flight at an altitude of 500 meters at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour. This single-cabin manned airship can accommodate up to 10 people, mainly for low-altitude tourism.
In August, the first 2024 flight test of a chinese-developed large-scale twin-engine unmanned transport aircraft was conducted at Fengming General Aviation Airport in Zigong, Sichuan province. Reuters described the test flight as“A new milestone in China’s efforts to expand its ‘low-altitude economy’”. According to the Interesting Engineering website, the aircraft is characterized by easy handling, reliability, safety and intelligence, and the launch of this aircraft will help China enhance its air cargo capacity, create new intelligent logistics solution for“Low altitude economy”.
In addition to the cargo function, the environmental role of China’s unmanned transport aircraft has also attracted foreign media attention. Media outlets such as Nepal’s Kathmandu Post, Pakistan’s tribune and the Asian finance network pointed out that Nepal has decided to use Chinese unmanned transport aircraft to clean up garbage in the Himalayas, the Joint Garbage Removal Project is one of the most noteworthy overseas projects of its kind. In the future, the UAV is also expected to achieve the role of mountain rescue.
Policy support to promote the“Low-altitude economy” take-off
For a period of time, China’s development of the“Low-altitude economy” policy environment has been optimized. Many foreign media that this is to promote the“Low-altitude economy” take-off one of the key factors.
Many have described the 2024 Lianhe Zaobao as the first year of the Chinese“Low-flying economy”, with a number of indicative events taking place, according to the Singapore Gazette. For example, “Low-altitude economy” was written into the government work report; the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee clearly proposed the development of general aviation and low-altitude economy; and the low-altitude economic development department of the National Development and Reform Commission was officially established, the agency is believed to have a“Key coordinating role” in developing the“Low-altitude economy”.
“Over the past year, China’s ‘low-altitude economy’ has continued to promote development through exploration, and 2025 will be the year of overall acceleration and innovative development of the ‘low-altitude economy, ‘” Zhou Shuguang, member of the National People’s Congress and Chairman of China Aerospace Science and Technology Group, said, at the national level, we should accelerate the construction of“Intelligent low-altitude sky network” relying on the high-speed road network, and take it as a strategic plan for the development of“Low-altitude economy” and a major new national infrastructure.
The policy side and the industrial side, the demand side of the same frequency resonance, many foreign media optimistic about China’s“Low-altitude economy” development prospects.
China has relaxed airspace restrictions to encourage the development of a“Low-altitude economy” with increasingly large payloads for test aircraft, Reuters reported. It also noted that China sees the“Low-altitude economy” as a new growth engine and“Vertical transportation” as a“New quality of productivity” in areas such as passenger and freight transport.
The Spanish ABC website describes the Chinese government’s initiatives to develop a“Low-altitude economy” as an ambitious plan. In the southern Chinese region of Grand-Baie, a number of VTOL sites and air routes will be built. A number of manufacturers and suppliers of electric VTOL aircraft have jumped on the bandwagon, because no one wants to be left behind in the field.
Spain’s“Secret” website pointed out that in the“Low-altitude economy” sector, China is facing incredible economic opportunities. China is promoting this new form of economic development.
Thanks to the support of regulators, technological breakthroughs and fierce competition in China’s logistics industry, the Financial Times website quoted industry insiders as saying, china’s low-altitude industry is gradually taking the lead. The review shows the growing market for electric VTOL aircraft with potential customers in airlines, logistics, emergency services, agriculture, tourism and security.
Innovation is amazing, open up overseas markets
As a typical representative of new quality productivity, the development of“Low altitude economy” can not be separated from innovation-driven. At present, China is vigorously developing unmanned, electrified and intelligent low-altitude equipment, and promoting a new generation of information and communication technology, digital technology, artificial intelligence and other technologies to empower the low-altitude industrial system in an all-round way. In the field of“Low-altitude economy”, “Made in China” is becoming more and more popular in overseas markets.
Recently, the BBC published“More than DeepSeek: How ‘Made in China 2025′ can help China Rise”, which praised the country’s development achievements in recent years. China’s pace and breadth of innovation in high-tech fields such as drones, artificial intelligence and new energy is impressive, the report said. The report also pointed out that China’s scientific and technological progress has not only reshaped the global scientific and technological landscape, but also set a new benchmark for future technological development, which will have a profound impact on the international development pattern.
Chinese ABC Fengfei’s Shengshilong aircraft, which can seat four passengers and a pilot, is equipped with an all-electric propulsion system, according to the Spanish newspaper, capable of cruising at 200 kilometers per hour for 250 kilometers. With its efficiency and versatility, Shengshilong is an ideal choice for the sky taxi. At present, the company has delivered the“Sashimi dragon” to a Japanese customer who will use the aircraft at large-scale events such as the Osaka World Expo.
China’s Ehang intelligence is already selling a small electric aircraft that can take off and land vertically on its own, French newspaper les echos reported, it can carry two passengers over a distance of 30 kilometers at a speed of 90 kilometers per hour. The company’s EH216-S became the first unmanned manned electric VTOL aircraft to be certified by China’s civil aviation authorities. “We sell the aircraft in China and also in other countries. For example, we have an order for 100 aircraft from Abu Dhabi,” said a company official
According to a report in the Russian newspaper The Independent, the 2024 company meituan announced in December that, dubai’s Civil Aviation Authority has issued the United Arab Emirates’ first commercial certificate for over-the-horizon Drone distribution to the overseas brand of its Drone business. Now the Chinese company is rushing food, medicine and other essentials to specially designated flight sites. China has delivered drones and automated“Airports” to Dubai and deployed an intelligent dispatch system to organise cargo drone flights.