(Yicai) Dec. 30 -- The National Development and Reform Commission, China's top state planner, has established a new department to coordinate and advance the development of the low-altitude economy.

The Low-Altitude Economy Development Department will focus on formulating and implementing low-attitude economic development strategies, medium- and long-term development plans, making policy suggestions, and coordinating major issues, according to a new column added to the website of the NDRC on Dec. 27.

The department has held two symposiums to address building low-altitude smart networking systems and infrastructure development, the website showed.

Low-altitude smart integrated infrastructure is the core and basic guarantee for the high-quality development of the low-altitude economy, Xiang Jinwu, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said at an industry conference. The government should lead the development of a low-altitude smart network that integrates the infrastructure, air route, communication and navigation, airspace management, and low-altitude service networks to ensure the safe operation of low-altitude aircraft, Xiang added.

The low-altitude economy is an economical form derived from the civil manned or unmanned aircraft's low-altitude flight activities. It covers aircraft research and development, commercial operation, and infrastructure construction, including traditional aviation formats and low-altitude production and services supported by drones.

China's low-altitude economy was worth CNY506 billion (USD59.3 billion) last year, up 34 percent from a year earlier, according to a report by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's China Center for Information Industry Development. It will likely be worth CNY1.5 trillion (USD205.5 billion) by next year and CNY3.5 trillion by 2035, the Civil Aviation Administration of China predicted.

China has made notable progress in developing the low-altitude economy, said Zhang Xiaolan, deputy director at the policy simulation lab of the State Information Center's Department of Economic Forecasting. However, it also faces various hurdles, including slow progress in building infrastructure and weak key core technologies, Zhang added.

The development of China's low-altitude economy will inject new momentum into economic growth, with the continuous optimization of the policy environment, continued improvement of technological level, and sustained release of market demand, Zhang noted.

Besides the low-altitude economy, China is also advancing the development of other emerging industries based on the recent Central Economic Work Conference and the annual working meetings of various central government-level departments and commissions.

Incubating new pillars and "racing tracks" are inevitable choices to enhance China's economic development, several experts pointed out. Local administrations need to adapt to local conditions, identify sub-tracks, and make precise efforts, they added.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Martin Kadiev