China will adopt more tailored approaches to foster new quality productive forces in 2025 for high-quality development, an official from the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, said on Friday.
With innovation playing the leading role, new quality productive forces mean advanced productivity freed from traditional economic growth modes and productivity development paths. They feature high technology, high efficiency, and high quality in line with the new development philosophy, and the energy sector is one of the key domains for creating new quality productive forces.
Zhao Chenxin, deputy director of the commission, said significant progress has been made in advancing new quality productive forces over the past year.
In 2025, Zhao emphasized, it is important to further foster new quality productive forces according to local conditions. For example, Gobi Desert and other deserts or arid areas are encouraged to build large-scale wind and solar power bases and extend the industrial chain through the development of advanced energy storage systems, the production of green hydrogen from renewable energy, and the creation of hydrogen-based products.
Zhao also highlighted the need for integrated development in promoting new quality productive forces by leveraging artificial intelligence technology, supporting the application of renewable energy and advanced energy storage technologies, and establishing zero-carbon industrial parks, communities, and villages.
Zhao underscored the importance of optimizing institutional arrangements to enhance the development of new quality productive forces.
"For example, we are optimizing institutional arrangements such as market registration, trading mechanisms, and measurement and settlement systems to support various market entities in participating in the electricity market. This also provides space for the development of new business models including virtual power plants and smart microgrids. At the same time, we must watch out for the problems including blindly following trends, neglecting or abandoning traditional industries, and homogenous competition caused by haphazard development," said Zhao.
China to adopt tailored approaches to foster new quality productive forces: official
A growing number of research and production enterprises focused on electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft have emerged in China and are seeking the necessary certification to bring their products to the sky.
Volant, a Shanghai-based eVTOL developer, is seeking a type certificate (TC) for its 2.5-ton eVTOL aircraft, which is designed to carry one pilot and up to five passengers.
Currently, the company has signed preliminary cooperation agreements with numerous clients, with total orders exceeding 700 aircraft. However, before these partnerships can be realized, they must secure various safety certifications from local civil aviation authorities over the next one to two years.
"Obtaining certifications is a complex process involving hundreds of testing subjects. For example, the seats must be able to withstand 16 times the force of gravity throughout the aircraft's entire lifespan," said Huang Xiaofei, Vice President of Strategy at Volant.
Jiang Jun is the co-founder of TCab Tech, another eVTOL developer. A month ago, they also held a meeting to apply for a type certificate (TC) for their first model. He noted that China has a relatively well-developed environment for eVTOL aircraft manufacturing.
"Currently, the only component we import is the motor, which comes from the French manufacturer Safran. All other parts are made in China, so the entire supply chain is essentially complete," said Jiang.
Driven by the manufacturing demand for eVTOL aircraft, the industry is actively expanding and investing across various segments of the entire supply chain.
"For example, we have partnered with several leading universities and research institutes in Shanghai to innovate components and composite materials. We are also focusing on domestic chips and materials to replace imported components. I believe this represents a major opportunity for the entire industry," said Zhu Min, head of Shanghai STVC Group.
In 2024, the Shanghai municipal government issued an action plan aimed at supporting the development of over 10 leading eVTOL aircraft research and manufacturing enterprises, with the goal of attracting more than 100 key supporting companies by 2027.
"We are focused on building a comprehensive industrial system for the research and development, design, final assembly, trial testing, and commercial application of new low-altitude aircraft. We are leveraging municipal industrial special funds to accelerate the innovative research and manufacturing efforts of enterprises in Shanghai," said Guo Lei, director of the Major Equipment Industry Division of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization.
China’s eVTOL developers race to obtain certifications
