The year 2024 is being hailed as the inaugural year of China's low-altitude economy, as the concept appeared in this year's Government Work Report as a new growth engine, while temporary regulation on flights of unmanned aerial vehicles came into effect in January.

It is predicted that the market size of the national low-altitude economy will reach 1.5 trillion yuan ($205.5 billion) next year. The success of the low-altitude economy cannot be delinked from China's new energy vehicle and aviation industry chains.

However, the low-altitude economy is not an industry that can quickly show returns from investment. In the early stages of development, heavy investment is required for research and development, materials, production, certification, and other aspects. For example, the electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle is a hot concept that's attracting investment, but the enterprise that manufactures them needs to obtain the type, production and airworthiness certificates issued by the civil aviation administration, and apply for flying routes. It takes time, complicated procedures and investment in the whole chain.

A latest quarterly report shows that more than half of listed companies in the low-altitude economy have not registered profitable growth yet. The enterprises must focus on technological innovation and persist until the low-altitude economy yields large-scale returns.