China’s Low-Altitude Economy: A Strategic Push and its Implications for Korea

China’s low-altitude economy is an emerging composite industry centered on the low-altitude flight of manned and unmanned aircraft, including drones (unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs) and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, and combined with applied services in logistics, tourism, and urban management. Since its elevation to a national strategic industry in 2024, policy, markets, and technology have advanced together at an accelerating pace, and being written into the 15th Five-Year Plan as a strategic emerging industry in 2025 has established it as a medium- to long-term national strategy. The market is expanding quickly, from CNY 670 billion in 2024 to roughly CNY 1.5 trillion, or about KRW 280 trillion, in 2025, and routine operations are spreading through logistics, tourism, and urban management. The industry’s development rests above all on a three-tier division of labor that binds three things into a single working structure: institutional and standards design by the central government, pilot zones operated by local governments, and technology and service delivery by private fi rms. Korea has strong technological capabilities in drones and urban air mobility (UAM), but gaps remain in institutions, infrastructure, and supply chains. Drawing on China’s experience, Korea needs to consider, step by step, building institutional foundations ahead of deployment, establishing city-scale demonstration systems, and pursuing cooperation on international certification.