BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- China's national standards for civilian drones have significantly enhanced product safety and development efficiency since their implementation last year, the country's top market regulator said on Monday.

The State Administration for Market Regulation said that a series of standards introduced since June 2024 have effectively reduced research, testing and production costs while strengthening the industrialization and commercialization capabilities of China's rapidly growing drone sector.

These standards provide strong technical support for the development of the low-altitude economy, said the market regulator, adding that it plans to work with relevant departments to further enhance drone standard implementation.

Stricter testing conditions mandated by China's drone reliability standard have yielded significant safety improvements, with industry analysis revealing a 25 percent increase in mean time between failures, while failure rates in complex urban settings dropped by half.

The implementation of two national standards for medium and large fixed-wing drones has significantly improved safety management during test flights. The Aviation Industry Corporation of China, for instance, reported a 40 percent reduction in test flight accidents and a 25 percent increase in testing efficiency after incorporating these standards into its development processes.

Industry-wide data shows these standards have contributed to a 15 percent year-on-year decrease in accident rates for large and medium-sized fixed-wing drones, while shortening test flight periods by an average of 20 percent and reducing development costs by 18 percent.

Another key standard that established collision safety requirements for lightweight drones weighing between 0.25 kg and 25 kg has significantly improved consumer confidence. Products designed according to this standard have shown a 40 to 60 percent reduction in potential injury risk indices during collision tests, with some compliant products seeing sales surge by 115 percent year on year.

According to a report by China Air Transport Association in October 2024, China has been the world's largest exporter of civilian drones for a number of years. The country accounts for approximately 70 percent of global patent applications in the drone sector, establishing itself as the world's leading source of drone technologies.

The mature industrial chain has laid a solid foundation for the takeoff of China's low-altitude economy.

Chinese lawmakers are advancing legislation to accelerate the growth of the country's low-altitude economy, a rapidly emerging sector that includes drone delivery, aerial sightseeing and other industries operating below 1,000 meters above ground.

A draft revision to the 30-year-old Civil Aviation Law has, for the first time, added provisions related to bolstering the low-altitude economy, a move experts say effectively grants the sector legal status as a key component of China's strategic emerging industries.

Since 2024, widely regarded as the inaugural year of China's low-altitude economy, the sector has seen rapid expansion, with its market size projected to reach 1.5 trillion yuan (about 210 billion U.S. dollars) by 2025. Enditem