Zhang Juen/text
Recently, the Central Economic Work Conference made it clear that the low-altitude economy is one of the strategic emerging industries in the mainland, proposing to build and vigorously develop the low-altitude economy, and proposing to open up a new industrial track. When I heard it, I was greatly encouraged.
First, the low-altitude economy is identified as a strategic emerging industry, becoming an integral part of the country's modern industrial system in the new era, and becoming a representative of the new quality of productive forces, pointing out a new application field and direction for the development of aviation, which is of great significance; second, the protagonist of the low-altitude economy is "aviation", and the core activity is "flying", and the development of low-altitude economy will greatly promote the great development of the mainland's aviation industry, and its significance is comparable to that of "large aircraft" and "large aircraft" Two machine special", its influence and role are even more far-reaching.
What is low-altitude economy? Low-altitude economy is an economic concept, which is a special term to describe an economic form, that is, a comprehensive economic form that takes low-altitude flight activities as the core to drive the development of related fields and obtain economic value. "Low altitude" is a definition of the altitude range of the airspace, according to the division of continental airspace, from the ground, the atmospheric altitude range below 1000 meters is "low altitude".
The so-called airspace refers to the space above the earth's surface that can be flown up; national airspace is sovereign, public, safe, and economical; and "true height" refers to the true altitude, which refers to the vertical distance between the aircraft in flight and the ground directly below it.
The main low-flying aircraft are helicopters, small planes and various types of unmanned aerial vehicles. In other words, flight activities below 1,000 meters and relying on a variety of aircraft suitable for this altitude range constitute the core activity of the low-altitude economy. Without low-altitude flight, there is no low-altitude economy. Without low-altitude aircraft, there is no low-altitude economy.
However, since low-altitude economy is an economic concept and an expression of an economic form, it must settle on the economy. Therefore, low-altitude aircraft is a platform for economic activities, and low-altitude flight is the carrier of economic activities, and its essential role is to help create economic value, rather than a non-utilitarian flight of "flying for the sake of flying".
Therefore, the typical characterization of the low-altitude economic form is: industry (application) + aviation (flight). Such as "cargo + aviation", "agriculture and forestry + aviation", "medical + aviation", "commuting + aviation", "tourism + aviation", "sports + aviation", "electricity + aviation", "environmental protection + aviation", "research + aviation" and so on.
The sum of the economic value-added generated by all industries and application subjects that need low-altitude aviation is the value of low-altitude economy.
The development of low-altitude economy requires the support of multiple factors, and the five most important elements are: market, airspace, policy, technology and safety. The technical and security elements are reflected in the applicable products, as well as in the management and service.
First of all, the conceptual attributes of general aviation and low-altitude economy are different, general aviation refers to all civil aviation activities in civil aviation except for the basic fixed routes/flight hours, operated by airlines, and provided to the society and the whole public.
In other words, general aviation and public shipping are two components of the civil air transport industry. General aviation covers passenger and cargo transportation in non-public shipping and a wide range of operational aviation. In recent years, with the vigorous development of UAVs, the application of UAVs in the field of general aviation has become a unique "Chinese phenomenon". In view of the airspace, aircraft varieties and main application scenarios of general aviation, which are highly consistent with the requirements of low-altitude economy, it can be considered that general aviation is the main body of low-altitude economic flight activities.
So, what is the relationship between the "airport economy" and the low-altitude economy? The two are both economic concepts, and the difference is that the airport economy is aimed at the area where the airport (airport) is located and the adjacent areas and the areas along the airport corridor, and is a special industrial park economy. With the increasing prosperity of the air transport industry, due to the huge effect of air transport, the concentration of production, technology, capital, trade and population in these regions has been promoted, thus forming a multi-functional economic region, and the resulting economic activities and economic value are called "airport economy".
Its main components are: the airport as the core of the aviation city economy, the hub airport as the gateway to drive the regional economy, including bonded warehousing, logistics transit, logistics distribution, international procurement, exhibition, processing and export, and other bonded extension industrial clusters, as well as air transport, aviation-related industrial clusters.
It can be seen that in the use of airspace, the airport economy is not limited to low-altitude, and the air-based economy is not equivalent to the low-altitude economy, but its industrial attributes are similar to the low-altitude economy, and the industrial content and the low-altitude economy have many intersections, and its extension is more integrated with the low-altitude economy. The low-altitude economy, which has the same regional economic characteristics as the airport economy, should be planned as a whole, coordinated and seamlessly connected with the construction of the airport economic zone in the region, so as to implement the maximum degree of resource sharing and integrated development.
What are the components of the low-altitude economy? It is roughly composed of five parts.
The first part is the application. The application is proposed from the needs of economic activities, to fly to other means of transportation difficult to reach, difficult to reach (that is, the application scenario), so as to speed up the pace, improve efficiency, save time, reduce costs, emergency troubleshooting, etc. Aviation should be included in development planning for all industries that require aviation, and operators who can provide aviation services should establish close cooperation with users or potential users. As far as the main body of economic activities is concerned, either expanding the business sector and operating independently, or purchasing services and joint operations, "using aviation" and "making good use of aviation" are new means and new tools, and they are also the leading content of the low-altitude economy. For "aviation", application is fundamental, application is the last word, and application can have economic value-added. Continuously expanding application scenarios is the only way for low-altitude economic development.
The second part is flying. As mentioned above, without low-altitude flight, there is no low-altitude economy. In terms of flight content, low-altitude flight can be roughly equated with general aviation, and it is also highly overprinted with the above-mentioned "application" content. Roughly divided, there are production operations, customized services, rescue and emergency response, cultural consumption, etc. According to the different flight characteristics, around the basic needs of "flying", "using" and "landing", formulate policies and improve facilities, so that flight activities can be carried out smoothly, safely and cost-controllably.
The third part is manufacturing. Refers specifically to the manufacture of low-altitude aircraft, as mentioned earlier. Among them, the most reflective low-altitude economic characteristics are a variety of unmanned aerial vehicles, including high-efficiency operation drones, electric cargo drones, commercial manned drones, etc., among which unmanned aerial vehicles with vertical take-off and landing functions are not only a hot spot for development, but also expected to play an important role in urban air mobility (UAM) and a wider advanced air mobility system (AAM), becoming a new track, new varieties and new economic growth points in the aviation manufacturing industry.
The fourth part is safeguards. Including low-altitude air traffic control, communication and navigation, meteorological services, fuel/power supply, general airports, flight camps, helicopter take-off and landing points, flight service stations, UAV flight information systems, UAV supervision and countermeasure systems, and maintenance services. Among them, the maintenance business has multiple attributes, which is not only a guarantee work, but also a link that can directly generate commercial value. Relying on the domestic aviation manufacturing capacity, it can form a closed loop of maintenance, modification and dismantling business, extend the relevant industrial chain, and promote the green and sustainable development of the low-altitude economy.
The fifth part is service. It refers to the service business mainly stimulated by low-altitude flight and various applications, such as training, exhibition, education, popular science, media and leasing insurance, intermediary agency, etc. Among them, there are traditional services, and there are also unique new services.
The low-altitude economy is a three-dimensional economy. Expanding from 2 to 3 dimensions is self-evidently three-dimensional. The key lies in the fact that we should substantively further reform airspace management in accordance with national conditions, and treat airspace as a resource like land and the ocean, especially the airspace that belongs to the airspace, which is a precious resource of the country. It is necessary to achieve "safety" in full use, rather than not using it, to seek so-called peace and quiet. These are two completely different "views of security".
Now, the central government has issued an order, then start from the kilometer airspace, liberate it, treat it well, and break out a way to effectively use the low-altitude airspace, so that the low-altitude economy can be "lively", so that the low-altitude economy, a new industry, can truly prosper. At the same time, however, we must attach great importance to the maintenance of the safety of the state's airspace and the safety of flight activities, which is the key to whether low-altitude flights can win the trust of the public and whether the three-dimensional economy can develop; we must build a solid foundation for the safe operation of the low-altitude economy through the construction of laws and regulations and the implementation of various safety work requirements in accordance with the principle of combining decentralization and regulation.
The low-altitude economy is a regional economy. The low-altitude economy based on the characteristics of small aircraft, small scale, small range, short routes, diversified enterprises, and customized/decentralized applications is different from large-scale, large-scale, and always determined by public air transport and high-speed rail, showing distinct regional and flexible characteristics. China is a large country, with distinct regional characteristics and great differences in development levels, and there will be different application scenarios for aviation applications in the regional economy. According to the different needs of various places, the integration of different styles of aviation elements, so that the local economy plugged in the wings of take-off, is the common goal of the planning and development of low-altitude economy in various regions.
Only it originates from the region, which is more individual, more flexible, and more vigorous. However, even if it is a small "plane", it is fast enough, and it is difficult for a small area to demonstrate the superiority of "flying", and the low-altitude economy that began with regional planning has embarked on a large pattern of "regional linkage", which is an inevitable trend.
The low-altitude economy is a synergistic economy. No other form of economy, such as the low-altitude economy, has inherent synergy. To develop it well, it is also required to have a highly conscious spirit of collaboration and a good coordination model, including upper and lower (government and enterprise) coordination, military-civilian coordination, air-ground coordination, user (household) service (service) coordination, etc., to form an all-round, full-chain, all-factor coordination.
The low-altitude economy driven and affected by the industry, is one of the very few industries that have not been fully liberalized since the reform and opening up of the mainland, concentrated in the slow and scattered development of the general aviation industry, but at the same time, the low-altitude economy and the general aviation industry has great potential for development, and now it has reached the historical stage of vigorously stimulating and accelerating the development, the first is the government, the business community, and the social groups of the vigorous coordination.
After issuing the order, while emphasizing the fundamental role of the market in the allocation of resources, the government itself must do something. For example, the further promotion of airspace management reform, the research and prediction of market demand, the layout of manufacturing capacity and infrastructure construction, low-altitude aircraft airworthiness management, the planning of low-altitude routes and the improvement of air traffic management and services, the necessary subsidies and support policies, the design of means of purchasing services, etc., are all "things" of the government, not driven by the market, nor can enterprises be responsible, must be the government's efforts, especially local governments, the responsibility is more real. From the planning of the regional economy to the regional linkage, the government plays a major role in comprehensively promoting the development of the low-altitude economy, making far-sighted and operational planning and layout, providing strong policy guidance and support, and creating a good environment for investment and financing.
The low-altitude economy is an innovative economy. The low-altitude economy is an emerging strategic industry, and all sectors of society should study and solve practical difficulties and problems in development with the spirit of courage and innovation. Aviation manufacturing enterprises, general aviation operators and all institutions in the relevant industrial chain and supply chain should especially strengthen the innovation of technology, products and services, especially the research and development and use of unmanned aerial vehicles and new energy low-altitude aircraft, so as to make them a new engine for driving aviation development and low-altitude economy. Relevant social organizations should also seize the rare historical opportunity to create a social environment for low-altitude economic development, improve the scientific literacy of the whole people, build aviation culture, and carry out creative work.
With the joint efforts of the whole society, a new form of China's low-altitude economy will be accelerated and will develop vigorously, making important contributions to promoting China's economic growth and building a great socialist power. In this process, China's aviation industry will also grow into a strategic pillar industry of the country, comparable to the world's powerhouses, and empower national rejuvenation.