A drone wields a "sword" in an ice-covered mountain and easily breaks the ice layer on a high-altitude, high-voltage line. Agricultural drones collect real-time information on soil and crops in a wide cotton field to help farmers work. At the scene of the fire, fire drones emit high-pressure water columns in the air and extinguish the flames of a 10-story building. At a movie shooting site, a drone for video shoots the screen with a high definition camera as it descends from the sky... As the use of drones becomes more common, the low (低) economy is constantly giving energy to various industries in China and creating new businesses.
"Low altitude" generally refers to an airspace (域) that has a vertical distance of less than 1000m from the horizontal plane and can be extended to 4000m depending on the characteristics of the region and actual demand. China is awakening the potential of the low-altitude economy by stimulating market capacity, guaranteeing policies, strengthening technical support, and promoting high-quality development of industries so that the low-altitude economy can fly further and better.
Going out and getting on a plane right away is a scene I've seen in a sci-fi movie in the past. This year, Shenzhen continued to expand the game of 'air taxis'. Commuting routes flying from the 燕 坪 Convention Center to the 福 Commercial Center (CBD) shortened the travel time between the two areas, which took 60 minutes from the ground, to 13 minutes. The world's first commercial autonomous air taxi flies over 駱崗 Park in Hefei, Anhui Province, 徽 Province. It's not long before we can say goodbye to the congestion on the way to and from work by public commuting.
According to experts' analysis, a low-altitude economy has infinite possibilities in the future. It can build industrial systems as well as low-altitude transportation systems. The emergence of more and more application scenarios will expand new industrial chains. Advanced technologies such as digital technologies, smart technologies, and digital twin technologies can all stand out in low-tech industries.
In fact, there is a Chinese company that is running ahead of the new road of a low-altitude economy.
Chinese private drone manufacturers with DJI as their representatives have strong competitiveness in terms of global market share and commercialization capabilities. DJI's flight controllers, horizontal maintenance, image transmission devices, and self-developed imaging systems have formed a scaling advantage and currently account for more than 70% of the global market.
Last year, China's private drone industry exceeded 120 billion yuan (about 22.1868 trillion won), ranking first in the world. It is expected to be higher than this in 2025. According to a recent low-level economic white paper published by the China Institute for Digital Economy (IDEA), the overall contribution of the low-level economy to China's national economy is expected to reach 3 trillion to 5 trillion yuan by 2025. Low-altitude economies are emerging as a new arena for competition among more and more cities.
"With just one drone design, Anyang's drone industrial complex has the ability to make finished drones." In recent years, Anyang City, Henan Province, has built a drone industrial complex in the Jungwon High-Tech Industrial Development District, focusing on the strategic goal of building an "air sports city."
Nearly 140 projects, including complete aircraft products, drones, engines, maintenance and operation, form the upstream and downstream industry within the 蕪 Aviation Industrial Complex in Anhui, 徽.
Hunan Province, China's first global low-altitude opening demonstration site, has completed flight verification of 97 low-altitude routes. This can be called a safety flight manual, and if you follow the manual, you can fly at any time.
On the large screen of the Changsha Flight Service Center in 沙, the situation over Hunan Province on the same day is displayed in real time. On the screen, low-altitude airspace in Hunan Province can be divided into 179 blocks to monitor when and how each block can fly in real time. Approved flight plans can quickly simulate flight paths to ensure flight safety.
In recent years, China has continued to strengthen support for complex policies such as airspace policy, economic policy, and industrial policy, focusing on low-level economic development, while promoting synergy in high-level design and local search.
From January 1, 2024, the "Temporary Ordinance on the Management of Unmanned Aircraft Flights" (hereinafter referred to as the "Ordinance") came into force. 賀 星, vice president of Guangzhou-based Chinese drone manufacturer 億航, said the "ordinance" provided a solid foundation for continuing commercialization by standardizing flight and related activities of unmanned aircraft and providing standardized guarantees for commercial operations of drones carrying people.
[People's Daily Yang Junfeng (楊俊峰)]