Feng Zhenglin: Drive High-Quality Development of the Low-Altitude Economy Through Reform and Innovation
2024/07/29
The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee adopted the Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Advancing Chinese Modernization (the “Decision”). The Decision sets the overall goals of further reform, maps a systematic roadmap, and calls for further liberating and developing the social productive forces, stimulating social vitality, and taking high-quality development as the primary task in building a modern socialist country. It reflects the historical initiative of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core to improve and develop the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and modernize China’s system and capacity for governance, and it underscores a people-centered approach to advancing Chinese modernization through reform and opening-up. The Decision provides the overall design for building a strong country in the new era; to implement its spirit, we must accelerate the “construction drawings.” By explicitly calling for developing general aviation and the low-altitude economy, the Decision further affirms the industry’s status as a strategic emerging sector, strengthening our confidence and clarifying the direction and path for scientifically planning high-quality growth through reform-minded thinking and practical innovation.
The low-altitude economy is a comprehensive economic form that relies on low-altitude airspace resources, is driven by manned and unmanned civil aircraft flight activities, powered by cross-technology innovation, and radiates related fields and industrial chains. It clearly exhibits the features of new quality productive forces and constitutes a new industrial system critical to China’s future core competitiveness. It plays an important role in boosting domestic consumption, driving industrial upgrading, promoting socioeconomic development, serving national defense modernization, and enhancing emergency response capacity. Spanning aircraft manufacturing, aviation services, aviation tourism, aviation education, and airspace resource management, it holds economic potential measured in the trillions of yuan and will become a new growth driver for China’s economy.
In recent years, as China’s economy and technology have advanced, the low-altitude industry has entered an unprecedented window of opportunity. At the national level, a series of industry policies has opened broad space for development. Civil aviation’s three-tier low-altitude flight service support system has been established, with 28 networked low-altitude flight service stations covering 24 provinces, 13 unmanned aviation experimental zones, a civil UAV integrated supervision platform in operation, Beidou airborne terminal coverage above 95%, and low-altitude visual aeronautical charts taking shape. With national policy support, localities are exploring new practices: incomplete statistics show that since 2024, 29 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities have written the low-altitude economy into their government work reports and development plans, and many have issued or are drafting local support measures. China’s low-altitude economy is entering a stage of rapid growth.
As the sector heats up, we must also face challenges clearly. Overall, development still lacks top-level design, airspace management is not precise enough, and technology-to-application collaboration across the full industrial chain remains weak. Key gaps include incomplete market policies and regulations; incomplete mechanisms for assessing low-altitude flight safety, efficiency, economics, and fairness, and insufficient collaborative airspace management; lagging digitization of low-altitude factors and network services; rising risk-control pressure from heterogeneous, high-density, high-capacity operations involving public, air defense, flight, and information security; and weak standardization in facility interconnectivity, data sharing, and product interoperability amid rapid industry iteration—constraining replication of new scenarios, products, and models.
On the technical and operational side, infrastructure networks remain incomplete and service support lags; UAV airworthiness certification capacity does not match innovation needs; standards for general aviation airports and new vertical takeoff and landing sites are incomplete; and operating rules have not kept pace with rapid UAV growth. Application scenarios still need enrichment, scaled market use remains limited, and many fields are still blank.
On further comprehensively deepening reform, the Third Plenum stresses “paying more attention to systemic integration, to highlighting priorities, and to delivering tangible results.” Grasping these “three greater emphases” is essential methodology for advancing high-quality development of the low-altitude economy in a coordinated way.
(1) Focus on transforming traditional general aviation and innovating the new UAV industry to deepen low-altitude development in practice.
Traditional manned general aviation and the new UAV industry are like two wheels of a cart or two wings of a bird—both indispensable. The UAV sector has high public participation and rich use cases; it is the most dynamic factor in the low-altitude economy and the area where China is most likely to achieve leapfrog progress. At the same time, traditional general aviation remains irreplaceable in long-distance transport, large-scale operations, emergency rescue, and national defense transport, and also embodies typical features of new quality productive forces through transformation and upgrading. Developing the low-altitude economy requires balanced planning and dual-track drive.
(2) Continuously innovate and expand application scenarios to better meet personalized and diversified demand.
As an important part of the national comprehensive transport system, the low-altitude economy has comparative advantages unmatched by other modes and extremely rich use cases. Policy and technical support for different flight scenarios should be strengthened; development should remain demand-oriented, adjusting industry direction and product mix in response to market change, building personalized and customized services, and improving resilience and sustainability through innovative marketing and scenario expansion.
(3) Use industrial development planning to build internationally competitive low-altitude industry clusters.
Low-altitude growth is a gathering point for industrial chain development and needs planning-led, coordinated effort. Strengthen top-level design for full-chain collaboration; combine policy guidance with market mechanisms to cultivate leading enterprises and scale operations; explore locally grounded pathways while avoiding blind rushes, local overheating, and development for its own sake; and deepen international exchange to attract and train high-caliber talent with global vision and innovation capacity—building competitive industry clusters.
(4) Accelerate infrastructure improvement to provide a solid material foundation for industry growth.
For general aviation facilities, eVTOL and other new aircraft pose new challenges for construction standards and management. Research on new takeoff and landing sites and equipment should be strengthened, industry standards clarified, and support systems improved. On airspace classification, rational use of low-altitude airspace is a prerequisite for industry growth; internationally aligned classification standards have been issued and should be completed nationwide, clarifying service and operating entities for different airspace classes and expanding flyable airspace for low-altitude aircraft. For flight service support, leverage intelligent, digital, and AI technologies; build a 3D digital airspace GIS; accelerate aeronautical chart production; advance Beidou navigation, satellite communications, and autonomous flight; construct an integrated air–ground CNS network; speed up service station planning; and continuously improve aeronautical information and meteorological services. On airworthiness certification, break bottlenecks, innovate certification models, refine tiered and classified management, strengthen technical standards, and improve certification pathways.
(5) Safeguard safe operations through institutional, management, and regulatory innovation.
Safe operation oversight is essential for the low-altitude economy to fly farther and better. Balance development and safety, and reinforce the primary responsibilities of individuals and organizations. Pursue comprehensive supervision, explore effective “industry management + social management” models, pilot joint industry–local aviation safety oversight, and implement graded management. Build joint regulatory mechanisms strengthening cooperation among central and local governments, military and civilian parties, departments and localities, and government and enterprises—establishing cross-department, cross-domain low-altitude joint supervision. Insurance and related tools should also support industry development.
The Third Plenum has drawn a grand blueprint for building a strong country in the new era. Now is the time to guide high-quality low-altitude development with its spirit. With vigor, a practical mindset, and persistent reform and innovation, we will keep opening new chapters for high-quality growth of the low-altitude economy. (Author: Feng Zhenglin, Standing Committee member of the CPPCC National Committee and Deputy Director of its Economic Committee)
The low-altitude economy is a comprehensive economic form that relies on low-altitude airspace resources, is driven by manned and unmanned civil aircraft flight activities, powered by cross-technology innovation, and radiates related fields and industrial chains. It clearly exhibits the features of new quality productive forces and constitutes a new industrial system critical to China’s future core competitiveness. It plays an important role in boosting domestic consumption, driving industrial upgrading, promoting socioeconomic development, serving national defense modernization, and enhancing emergency response capacity. Spanning aircraft manufacturing, aviation services, aviation tourism, aviation education, and airspace resource management, it holds economic potential measured in the trillions of yuan and will become a new growth driver for China’s economy.
In recent years, as China’s economy and technology have advanced, the low-altitude industry has entered an unprecedented window of opportunity. At the national level, a series of industry policies has opened broad space for development. Civil aviation’s three-tier low-altitude flight service support system has been established, with 28 networked low-altitude flight service stations covering 24 provinces, 13 unmanned aviation experimental zones, a civil UAV integrated supervision platform in operation, Beidou airborne terminal coverage above 95%, and low-altitude visual aeronautical charts taking shape. With national policy support, localities are exploring new practices: incomplete statistics show that since 2024, 29 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities have written the low-altitude economy into their government work reports and development plans, and many have issued or are drafting local support measures. China’s low-altitude economy is entering a stage of rapid growth.
As the sector heats up, we must also face challenges clearly. Overall, development still lacks top-level design, airspace management is not precise enough, and technology-to-application collaboration across the full industrial chain remains weak. Key gaps include incomplete market policies and regulations; incomplete mechanisms for assessing low-altitude flight safety, efficiency, economics, and fairness, and insufficient collaborative airspace management; lagging digitization of low-altitude factors and network services; rising risk-control pressure from heterogeneous, high-density, high-capacity operations involving public, air defense, flight, and information security; and weak standardization in facility interconnectivity, data sharing, and product interoperability amid rapid industry iteration—constraining replication of new scenarios, products, and models.
On the technical and operational side, infrastructure networks remain incomplete and service support lags; UAV airworthiness certification capacity does not match innovation needs; standards for general aviation airports and new vertical takeoff and landing sites are incomplete; and operating rules have not kept pace with rapid UAV growth. Application scenarios still need enrichment, scaled market use remains limited, and many fields are still blank.
On further comprehensively deepening reform, the Third Plenum stresses “paying more attention to systemic integration, to highlighting priorities, and to delivering tangible results.” Grasping these “three greater emphases” is essential methodology for advancing high-quality development of the low-altitude economy in a coordinated way.
(1) Focus on transforming traditional general aviation and innovating the new UAV industry to deepen low-altitude development in practice.
Traditional manned general aviation and the new UAV industry are like two wheels of a cart or two wings of a bird—both indispensable. The UAV sector has high public participation and rich use cases; it is the most dynamic factor in the low-altitude economy and the area where China is most likely to achieve leapfrog progress. At the same time, traditional general aviation remains irreplaceable in long-distance transport, large-scale operations, emergency rescue, and national defense transport, and also embodies typical features of new quality productive forces through transformation and upgrading. Developing the low-altitude economy requires balanced planning and dual-track drive.
(2) Continuously innovate and expand application scenarios to better meet personalized and diversified demand.
As an important part of the national comprehensive transport system, the low-altitude economy has comparative advantages unmatched by other modes and extremely rich use cases. Policy and technical support for different flight scenarios should be strengthened; development should remain demand-oriented, adjusting industry direction and product mix in response to market change, building personalized and customized services, and improving resilience and sustainability through innovative marketing and scenario expansion.
(3) Use industrial development planning to build internationally competitive low-altitude industry clusters.
Low-altitude growth is a gathering point for industrial chain development and needs planning-led, coordinated effort. Strengthen top-level design for full-chain collaboration; combine policy guidance with market mechanisms to cultivate leading enterprises and scale operations; explore locally grounded pathways while avoiding blind rushes, local overheating, and development for its own sake; and deepen international exchange to attract and train high-caliber talent with global vision and innovation capacity—building competitive industry clusters.
(4) Accelerate infrastructure improvement to provide a solid material foundation for industry growth.
For general aviation facilities, eVTOL and other new aircraft pose new challenges for construction standards and management. Research on new takeoff and landing sites and equipment should be strengthened, industry standards clarified, and support systems improved. On airspace classification, rational use of low-altitude airspace is a prerequisite for industry growth; internationally aligned classification standards have been issued and should be completed nationwide, clarifying service and operating entities for different airspace classes and expanding flyable airspace for low-altitude aircraft. For flight service support, leverage intelligent, digital, and AI technologies; build a 3D digital airspace GIS; accelerate aeronautical chart production; advance Beidou navigation, satellite communications, and autonomous flight; construct an integrated air–ground CNS network; speed up service station planning; and continuously improve aeronautical information and meteorological services. On airworthiness certification, break bottlenecks, innovate certification models, refine tiered and classified management, strengthen technical standards, and improve certification pathways.
(5) Safeguard safe operations through institutional, management, and regulatory innovation.
Safe operation oversight is essential for the low-altitude economy to fly farther and better. Balance development and safety, and reinforce the primary responsibilities of individuals and organizations. Pursue comprehensive supervision, explore effective “industry management + social management” models, pilot joint industry–local aviation safety oversight, and implement graded management. Build joint regulatory mechanisms strengthening cooperation among central and local governments, military and civilian parties, departments and localities, and government and enterprises—establishing cross-department, cross-domain low-altitude joint supervision. Insurance and related tools should also support industry development.
The Third Plenum has drawn a grand blueprint for building a strong country in the new era. Now is the time to guide high-quality low-altitude development with its spirit. With vigor, a practical mindset, and persistent reform and innovation, we will keep opening new chapters for high-quality growth of the low-altitude economy. (Author: Feng Zhenglin, Standing Committee member of the CPPCC National Committee and Deputy Director of its Economic Committee)