On May 9, a senior official of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) stated that the Central Institutional Organization Commission (CIOC) has officially approved the CAAC to establish a Low Altitude Economy Department – though its naming may differ from the Low Altitude Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The CAAC’s department is expected to be named the “Low Altitude Safety Department”, with an authorized staffing of 30 positions.
The establishment of the CAAC‘s Low Altitude Economy Department marks another major deployment in China’s low-altitude economy management system, following the NDRC’s establishment of its Low Altitude Economy Department at the end of 2024. This forms a division of labor characterized by “top-level planning by the NDRC and industry supervision by the CAAC”. Specifically, the NDRC’s Low Altitude Economy Department focuses on top-level planning, policy coordination, and industrial layout guidance for the national development of the low-altitude economy, while the CAAC’s Low Altitude Economy Department concentrates on industry implementation, with core responsibilities including airworthiness certification, operational safety supervision, air traffic control service support, market regulation, and the formulation of regulations and standards – bridging the “last mile” from policy to execution.
In 2025, the CAAC issued the “Notice on Establishing the CAAC General Aviation and Low Altitude Economy Leading Group”, formally establishing the CAAC General Aviation and Low Altitude Economy Leading Group. At the same time, the former CAAC General Aviation Leading Group, Civil Unmanned Aircraft Management Leading Group, and CAAC Low Altitude Economy Promotion Leading Group were dissolved, and their relevant duties and tasks were merged into the new group.