For decades, China's economic growth has largely unfolded on land — across factory floors, highways and ports. Now the country is turning its gaze upward.

What was once empty airspace below commercial flight paths is the next frontier of industrial expansion.

The so-called "low-altitude economy" — encompassing drones, electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOLs), airborne data platforms and the infrastructure that supports them — is poised to become a pillar of China's next development cycle.

The political signal is unmistakable.

Since 2023, the concept has been elevated from policy discussion to national strategy, written into successive top-level planning documents as well as the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30). In Beijing's industrial lexicon, such placement signals capital mobilization, regulatory reform and coordinated experimentation. In plain terms: the runway is being cleared.

The low-altitude economy is about transforming airspace into a factor of production.

Today, much of China's low-altitude airspace remains underutilized, historically managed with military priorities in mind.

Compared with the United States and Europe, China's proportion of open airspace, general aviation flight hours and density of supporting infrastructure remain relatively modest.

The US offers a useful benchmark. Its mature airspace management system allows general aviation access to the vast majority of airspace outside restricted zones.

General aviation is a major contributor to the US economy and supports a vast employment base. China is not seeking to replicate that model entirely, but the comparison underscores the scale of unrealized potential. As regulatory frameworks evolve and civil-military coordination improves, dormant airspace could become an arena of intense commercial activity.

Airspace alone does not generate growth. The true promise of the low-altitude economy lies in its position at the intersection of digitization and industrial upgrading.

It is both a product of digital industrialization and a catalyst for the digital transformation of traditional sectors.

On the one hand, technologies such as artificial intelligence, 5G connectivity and edge computing are enabling a new generation of intelligent aircraft — from autonomous drones to passenger-grade eVTOLs. These platforms form the backbone of an emerging industrial chain that spans advanced materials, batteries, avionics, sensors and software systems.

On the other hand, low-altitude applications accelerate the digital upgrading of agriculture, logistics, manufacturing and services.

Precision crop monitoring, smart inspection of infrastructure, rapid last-mile delivery and real-time environmental surveillance are not futuristic scenarios; they are commercially viable use cases already taking shape.

This matters in the broader context of China's manufacturing strategy. As the country moves beyond the first stage of its manufacturing power road map, intelligent manufacturing has become a central priority.

Yet the transition toward higher-value, technology-intensive production remains incomplete.

Advancing to the next level will require application-rich environments where advanced equipment, digital systems and industrial software can be deployed, refined and scaled in real-world conditions.

Low-altitude scenarios offer precisely such platforms — practical arenas where intelligent manufacturing can be stress-tested, integrated and upgraded, accelerating China's shift toward more sophisticated, innovation-driven production.

Data is the connective tissue. Drones and eVTOLs equipped with sensors and imaging systems expand the spatial boundaries of data collection, generating high-frequency, multi-modal information on weather, terrain, traffic and infrastructure conditions. When analyzed in real time through AI algorithms, this data enables route optimization, risk prediction and adaptive control.

China's increasingly open and cost-efficient AI ecosystem lowers barriers for localized model development, allowing diverse industries to tailor solutions to specific operational needs. In that sense, the skies may become one of the most practical proving grounds for applied AI.

The next five years will be decisive. By 2030, the overall scale of the low-altitude economy could reach 2 trillion yuan ($290 billion). But headline figures are less important than structural change.

First, infrastructure will proliferate. Much as petrol stations and EV charging points came to define the infrastructure of modern mobility, vertiports will increasingly be woven into core cities, transport hubs, scenic destinations and industrial parks. Integrated communication, navigation and surveillance networks will link air and ground systems, enabling flights to be trackable, manageable and traceable throughout their life cycle.

A dedicated low-altitude route network will gradually be embedded within China's broader three-dimensional transportation grid.

Second, application scenarios will multiply. Once airspace constraints ease, imaginative solutions to long-standing logistical bottlenecks become feasible.

Consider medical emergencies: dedicated urban "green corridors" for organ transport could allow drones to fly the shortest possible route between hospitals, cutting precious minutes from transplant procedures. Similar logic applies to disaster relief, firefighting in high-rise environments, and rapid deployment in remote rural areas.

Third, industrial clusters will consolidate. As eVTOLs and advanced drones move from prototype to mass production, competitive original equipment manufacturers are likely to emerge. Domestic production of key components will increase, strengthening the resilience of supply chains.

In vertical segments such as low-altitude agriculture, logistics, tourism, emergency response and public safety, more mature ecosystems will take shape.

Skeptics may argue that enthusiasm is running ahead of commercial reality. That risk is real. Regulatory complexity, safety standards, public acceptance and cost structures will all shape the pace of adoption.

But China enters this race with distinct advantages: advanced telecommunications networks, a comprehensive industrial base and a vast domestic market willing to test new technologies at scale.

The low-altitude economy is not merely about flying machines. It represents a shift from land-bound expansion to vertical integration of space, data and industry.

If managed prudently, the next five years will see China convert underused airspace into a dynamic growth engine, reshaping not only its aviation sector but the architecture of its broader economy.

The author is the deputy director of the Department of Macroeconomic Research at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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