China’s ambition to dominate the "low-altitude economy" is shifting from hardware production to systemic regulation. As drones increasingly occupy urban airspace, Beijing is accelerating the creation of "traffic rules" for the sky. A new national standard for ground-based identification equipment marks a critical step in turning a fragmented technology sector into a regulated industrial ecosystem.
The Standardization Administration of China recently approved the development of the "General Specification for Ground Receiving Equipment for Identity Identification of Civil Unmanned Aircraft Systems." This standard, led by industry players like Shenzhen HighGreat and Chengdu Shuhang Technology, aims to unify technical indicators and testing methods for the infrastructure that monitors drone traffic. By establishing these norms, China seeks to solve the critical gap in low-altitude surveillance—ensuring ground systems can accurately and reliably identify every craft in the air.
This regulatory push arrives as the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) projects that China’s low-altitude market will exceed 1 trillion yuan ($138 billion) by 2026, potentially reaching 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035. The economic potential spans logistics, emergency services, and passenger transport. However, the lack of interconnected and standardized ground-based monitoring has long been a bottleneck for safe, large-scale commercial deployment in dense urban environments.
The new framework complements mandatory standards for the drones themselves, which officially took effect in May 2026. While previous regulations focused on the "sending" side—requiring drones to broadcast identity signals—the latest initiative targets the "receiving" end. Companies involved, such as Chengdu Shuhang, have already begun piloting these ground networks in major hubs including Beijing, Shenzhen, and Chengdu, laying the physical and digital foundation for a unified national airspace management system.