Low-altitude industry gains strategic importance

People take photos of the "Land Aircraft Carrier" modular flying car developed by Xpeng Aeroht, which is affiliated with automaker Xpeng, during the China International Aviation &Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, on Nov 10. [YIN GANG/FOR CHINA DAILY]

China plans to promote the formation of a trillion-yuan ($138 billion) market for the low-altitude economy by 2030, fueling business growth opportunities of a large number of upstream and downstream industry players in this burgeoning sector.

A guideline proposed that China would establish more than 20 replicable and promotable low-altitude economy typical application demonstrations by 2027, according to the document jointly issued by four departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Guangdong province-based eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) maker EHang Holdings Ltd said that with increasing policy support, the low-altitude economy in the country is entering a phase of high-speed growth.

EHang, a Nasdaq-listed company, signed an agreement with A-share listed Zhejiang Sunriver Culture Tourism Co Ltd in mid-November, and the two sides will together explore the industrial model of integrating low-altitude economy with cultural tourism consumption scenarios in China.

Zhejiang Sunriver Culture will purchase 50 EH216-S or similar pilotless passenger-carrying aircraft from EHang for cultural and tourism projects such as sightseeing based on market demand.

"EHang will continue to promote the applications of eVTOL in different air traffic scenarios, as well as promote the building of an industrial ecology and the innovation of business models for the low-altitude sector," said He Tianxing, vice-president of EHang Holdings. "We will combine our own advantages and actively seize the strategic opportunities emerging in this golden period of growth for the low-altitude economy."

The year 2024 is considered the inaugural year of China's low-altitude economy, representing a new milestone for the booming sector. As a typical representative of the in-depth integration of new-generation information technology and aviation technology, developing the low-altitude industry has significant strategic importance, industry experts observed.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently held a meeting, which noted for the development of low-altitude industry. The meeting noted that the low-altitude sector is an important way of development for cultivating new quality productive forces and new economic growth points.

A batch of guidelines issued by the government has clearly proposed support for the research and development, product validation and exploration of commercial application scenarios for low-altitude aircraft.

So far, more than 30 provincial-level regions have included the low-altitude economy in their government work reports. A number of local governments have introduced policies to support the research and manufacturing of aircraft, the building of infrastructure, airspace management and flight standards, thus forming a relatively complete support system for the industrial chain.

Several cities such as Chongqing; Suzhou, Jiangsu province; Guangzhou, Guangdong province; and Wuhan, Hubei province have launched low-altitude economic industry funds to drive the growth of the sector, with the largest scale of the fund coming in at 20 billion yuan.