'Blue sky' powerhouse taking off

Two hours north, in Bengbu, another city in Anhui, aerospace aspirations take flight in earnest. Bengbu Commercial Aerospace Industrial Park of China, spanning over 260 hectares, now hosts 17 groundbreaking projects.

Inside a workshop of Bengbu Lingkong Technology Co Ltd, a technician delicately manipulates yellow crystal granules, the raw material destined to form a rocket's heat-resistant shield.

"We've developed a modified low-density quartz — phenolic thermal protection material," said Chen Shilin, Lingkong's production head. "It can withstand up to 2,100 C, equivalent to fitting the rocket with thermal armor."

Nearby at Jiuzhou Yunjian Anhui intelligent manufacturing base, a subsidiary of a national high-tech enterprise integrating design and development, assembly and testing of liquid rocket engines — engineers manufacture and test a liquid-methane rocket engine at a new launch test site.

These engines can restart mid-flight and are key for reusable designs. With 3D printing, the company is able to cut production time from six months to about 23 days.

Bengbu Commercial Aerospace Industrial Park of China is the physical embodiment of Anhui's strategy, to bring together innovators, materials producers, engine makers, and launch-service providers under one roof. By 2025, the province expects over 20 local firms forming a seamless value chain from materials to mission architecture.

"Our park is our launchpad to the stars," says Hu Haibo, deputy chief of Bengbu's Yuhui district government. "We're targeting a 20-billion-yuan industrial cluster in commercial aerospace within a few years."

Private capital is fueling the momentum, too. Several leading investment funds have anchored the local innovation ecosystem in the commercial aerospace sector.

On a broader perspective, China sees aerospace — not just defense but also civil applications — as a key future industry. In March 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China's top industry regulator, launched a general aviation innovation and application roadmap, pushing commercial aviation ahead.

Nationwide, drone companies surged by 145 in 2024, over 1.1 million unmanned aviation vehicle licenses were issued, and the low-altitude economy is projected to hit 1.5 trillion yuan ($209 billion) by 2025.Commercial space, on the other hand, propelled by satellite-internet and cargo services, may reach 2.5 trillion yuan.

In July, Autocraft from the United Arab Emirates signed a memorandum of understanding with eVTOL maker Shanghai TCab Technology Co Ltd to purchase 350 E20 eVTOL aircraft worth $1 billion. It marked China's largest single intent order for eVTOLs to date.

The company said that for the 350 E20 eVTOL aircraft, the initial use will be in Abu Dhabi, followed by connections to surrounding cities, and ultimately expand across the wider region.

Also last month, AutoFlight, another major eVTOL player, delivered a ton-class eVTOL, marking a breakthrough in the application of large homegrown eVTOLs.

With a payload capacity of up to 400 kilograms and a maximum cruising speed of 200 kilometers per hour as well as a range of 200 kilometers, the eVTOL features vertical takeoff and landing capabilities and a fixed-wing cruising design, enabling its applications in low-altitude logistics, emergency response and other fields.

Xie Jia, senior vice-president of AutoFlight, said that the aircraft type has so far completed more than 40,000 km of safe flights over various terrains across China and other countries and regions, such as the United Arab Emirates and Japan, which help validate its performance and explore its potential application scenarios.

Industry experts said that China's "sky" economy is experiencing an unprecedented period of development opportunities, with rapid advancements in various sectors including aircraft manufacturing, flight services and diverse application scenarios.

Wang Huizheng, deputy head of general aviation of the China Association of Information, said: "With continuous policy refinement and technological breakthroughs, China's vast 'blue sky' market holds immense potential, and is poised to inject powerful new momentum into the country's economic and social development."

Contact the writers at chengyu@chinadaily.com.cn