Author(s)

Ta Na ¹, Priyanga Dunusinghe ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ The University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Corresponding Author

Ta Na

ABSTRACT

Low-altitude economy in China is gaining momentum in recent years partly due to policy environment which is evolving rapidly to facilitate the activities. In particular, In recent years, China's low-altitude economy (LAE) has grown rapidly driven by a continuously evolving policy system. 2025 was a pivotal year, as a formal policy framework enabled large-scale commercial deployment. Policy support has shifted from macro encouragement to micro implementation, and from scattered pilots to systematic coordination. Using policy analysis, industrial data, and an international comparative perspective, this paper reviews five core dimensions of China's LAE policy: strategic positioning, airspace management, scenario opening, regulatory systems, and regional coordination. It finds that 2025 policies effectively alleviated traditional bottlenecks including airspace access, inconsistent standards, and high costs. Policies have promoted strategic upgrading, standard refinement, factor support, and cross-sector collaboration, forming an industrial structure with manufacturing as the foundation, operation as the core, and services as the support. From the perspective of new institutional economics, policy innovation has improved factor allocation efficiency. However, challenges remain, such as insufficient ecological coordination and limited long-term capital. Addressing these issues will be critical to unlocking the full potential of the low-altitude economy.

KEYWORDS

Low-Altitude Economy; Policy Environment; Institutional Innovation; Productivity; Industrial Upgrading

CITE THIS PAPER

Ta Na, Priyanga Dunusinghe. China's Low-Altitude Economy: An Inquiry into Evolving Policy Environment. Information Systems and Economics (2026). Vol. 7, No.1, 91-100. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/infse.2026.070111.

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