STORY: China eyes low-altitude economy for new growth engine
SHOOTING TIME: recent footage
DATELINE: March 19, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:07
LOCATION: SHENZHEN, China
CATEGORY: TECHNOLOGY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of low-altitude economy
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): HE TIANXING, Vice President of EHang
3. various of low-altitude economy

STORYLINE:

In the pursuit of high-quality development, some Chinese provinces and cities are leveraging their favorable locations and robust technological ecosystem to accelerate the development of the low-altitude economy.

Last Wednesday, a demonstration flight was completed under the Visual Flight Rules (VFR) between southwest China's Chongqing and Zigong, marking the launch of an interprovincial low-altitude air route in the region.

Local authorities said all aircraft that operate via this regular route can enjoy shortened flight application time and streamlined approval procedure.

Earlier last month, a five-seater rotor-wing aircraft called Prosperity took off from Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province.

It flew autonomously for 50 km and landed in the nearby city of Zhuhai about 20 minutes later.

The journey would require more than two hours by car.

According to AutoFlight, a Shanghai-based electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft startup, the flight marked the world's first public demonstration of an eVTOL aircraft on a cross-sea and inter-city route.

As an important driving force of new economic momentum, the low-altitude economy is viewed by many as a key strategic emerging industry.

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): HE TIANXING, Vice President of EHang
"I think the low-altitude economy is crucial in fostering new quality productive forces. It is a representative industry. (By developing it,) we can find new engines for driving consumption, production and ground-based infrastructure construction."

The low-altitude economy covers a wide range of sectors, such as low-altitude flight, air tourism, passenger transportation, among others.

It is also intertwined with the artificial intelligence (AI) and power battery industries.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, by the end of 2023, the size of China's low-altitude economy is estimated at more than 500 billion yuan (about 70 billion U.S. dollars), with its scale expected to rise to 2 trillion yuan by 2030.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Shenzhen, China.
(XHTV)