Soaring growth of drones calls for watchful eye

无人机的飞速增长需要警惕

A worker checks a fixed-wing drone in Cifeng township, Pengzhou, Sichuan province. (Photo/China Daily)

四川省彭州市慈峰乡，一名工人正在检查一架固定翼无人机。（图/中国日报）

The Government Work Report this year proposed to promote the safe and healthy development of the low-altitude economy. The action plan to boost consumption recently issued by the central government also requires accelerating the improvement of the low-altitude economic supervision system and orderly developing low-altitude consumption.

今年政府工作报告提出，促进低空经济安全健康发展。中央近期印发的提振消费行动计划也要求，加快完善低空经济监管体系，有序发展低空消费。

The potential of the low-altitude economy has begun to be demonstrated in the logistics industry and agriculture. In the first two months of this year, the output of civil drone products saw a year-on-year increase of 91.5 percent, showing robust momentum.

低空经济的潜力已经在物流业和农业领域初见端倪。今年前两个月，民用无人机产品产量同比增长91.5%，势头强劲。

The potential of low-altitude consumption also lies in its multiplier effect on the industry chain. Taking consumer-grade drones as an example, their popularization can also drive hardware manufacturing, software development, data processing, and other links.

低空消费的潜力还在于其对产业链的乘数效应。以消费级无人机为例，其普及还能带动硬件制造、软件开发、数据处理等环节。

It is predicted that the market size of the country's low-altitude economy will reach 1.5 trillion yuan ($207 billion) this year, and it is expected to reach 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035.

据预测，我国低空经济的市场规模今年将达到1.5万亿元人民币（2070亿美元），到2035年有望达到3.5万亿元人民币。

The supervision of low-altitude consumption not only involves data security, but also includes flight safety, consumer rights protection, low-altitude aircraft control and many other contents.

低空消费的监管不仅涉及数据安全，还包括飞行安全、消费者权益保护、低空航空器管制等诸多内容。

The Low-Altitude Economic Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission was founded in December. The department is responsible for the formulation and implementation of low-altitude economic development strategies and medium- and long-term development plans, proposing relevant policy recommendations.

国家发改委低空经济发展司于去年12月成立。该部门负责制定和实施低空经济发展战略和中长期发展规划，提出相关政策建议。

The authorities need to take into account flight safety supervision and industrial innovation needs. And more institutional breakthroughs are expected to accelerate the implementation of consumption scenarios.

当局需要统筹考虑飞行安全监管和产业创新需求。同时期待更多制度性突破以加速低空消费场景落地。

However, if it is not managed well, low-altitude aircraft will seriously disrupt production and living order, and even threaten public safety. Therefore, the Low-Altitude Economic Development Department of NDRC needs to coordinate with relevant departments so as to strengthen supervision to ensure that recreational and industry users abide by the regulations and use drones legally and responsibly.

然而，若管理不善，低空飞行器会严重扰乱生产生活秩序，甚至威胁公共安全。因此，国家发改委低空经济发展司需要会同相关部门加强监管，确保娱乐和行业用户遵守规定，合法负责地使用无人机。