Largest drone-testing airspace in north China approved to bolster emerging economy

A 600-square-kilometer zone located approximately 300 kilometers southwest of Beijing has been greenlit as the largest drone-testing airspace in north China, set to boost the growth of the nation's burgeoning low-altitude economy.

The zone, spanning an area of 25 by 23 kilometers, allows flights up to 4,000 meters, surpassing the standard 3,000-meter limit for low-altitude airspace.

This airspace in Shijiazhuang, the capital of north China's Hebei Province, is designed for trial flights of all manned and unmanned aircraft, including large industrial drones. It is expected to meet the demands of aviation emergency response, air transport, weather modification, low-altitude tourism and pilot training.

The unified management of the test zone will effectively streamline the process for enterprises to secure airspace, while the adoption of 5G-Advanced technology will facilitate real-time drone flight status monitoring, said Zhang Xueqian, a local official in charge of investment promotion.

"With the government's unified management of the test flight airspace, the time required for enterprises to apply for airspace will be significantly reduced. This has attracted more drone research and development companies from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to establish themselves in the park, promoting the development of industrial clusters," said Zhang Xueqian, deputy director of the investment promotion bureau of the Shijiazhuang Equipment Manufacturing Industrial Park Administrative Committee.

"Currently, the park administrative committee has established a low-altitude airspace operations management company dedicated to facilitating the approval process for experimental flights by enterprises and reinforcing services and operations. At the same time, there is vast potential for expanding the airspace for test flights. In the future, we will continue to apply for flight airspace across multiple scenarios, terrains, and climate types," said Guo Ruigang, a Party official with the Shijiazhuang Equipment Manufacturing Industrial Park.

Shijiazhuang is the latest Chinese city jumping to establish a foothold in the emerging sector, with numerous Chinese companies already capitalizing on the vast economic potential of the airspace by launching a variety of drones, eVTOLs and small aircraft.

Largest drone-testing airspace in north China approved to bolster emerging economy

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday presided over a State Council executive meeting that studied work on building a unified national market and reviewed and approved a plan for the development of a modern emergency response system during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

Noting that building a unified national market is essential to advancing high-quality development, the meeting called for deepening institutional frameworks in areas such as property rights protection, market access, fair competition, social credit and market exit mechanisms.

The meeting also urged efforts to advance high-standard connectivity of market infrastructure to facilitate smooth economic circulation and effectively reduce logistics costs across society.

Emergency management is critical to protecting people's lives and property, the meeting said. It called for accelerating the development of a modern emergency response system, deepening reform and innovation in emergency management, and improving coordinated response mechanisms.

Efforts should be made to strengthen risk prevention at the source, enhance monitoring, forecasting and early warning, and accelerate a shift in governance toward proactive prevention, according to the meeting.

A draft revision of the Law on the People's Bank of China was also discussed and approved in principle at the meeting, which decided to submit the draft to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation.

Chinese premier chairs State Council executive meeting