How can Sichuan-Chongqing collaborative development break through barriers and eliminate "bottlenecks" to help emerging industries advance further and accelerate the implementation of innovative results?
During the ongoing 2026 Chongqing Lianghui, multiple members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) focused on key challenges in industrial and innovation collaboration between Sichuan and Chongqing. They offered suggestions from perspectives such as collaborative legislation, digital empowerment, and institutional innovation, providing insights and solutions for the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle.
**Collaborative Legislation to "Escort" and Help Strategic Emerging Industries "Take Off"**
The 2026 Chongqing Municipal Government Work Report proposed forward-looking layouts for emerging industries and future industries. It aims to explore reforms for comprehensive low-altitude governance in megacities and build a strong city for innovative low-altitude economic development.
As one of the strategic emerging industries, the low-altitude economy is becoming an important engine for cultivating new quality productive forces and building a modern industrial system. Lu Yanping, a Chongqing CPPCC member and professor at the School of Economics of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, stated that Sichuan and Chongqing are transitioning from preliminary cooperation in "opening air routes" to deep integration in "building an industrial ecosystem together." The two regions are actively exploring cross-provincial low-altitude airspace collaborative management mechanisms, striving to build a "Chengdu-Chongqing Dual-City Low-Altitude Economic Corridor."
However, with the increasing frequency of cross-regional, diverse flight activities, the current airspace management system, legal guarantee framework, and infrastructure construction are struggling to meet industrial development needs. Problems include excessive reliance on "case-by-case approvals," difficulties in achieving "regularized passage," along with issues like inconsistent standards and prominent data barriers.
Lu Yanping analyzed that the main problems lie in the inefficient airspace management system, the lack of cross-regional coordination mechanisms, and a lagging legal guarantee system that cannot meet the legal demands of large-scale industrial development. Furthermore, the imbalanced infrastructure layout between the two regions and prominent technical standards and data barriers directly hinder the cross-provincial operation of the low-altitude economy.
How can legal boundaries be defined and institutional obstacles cleared for this emerging industry?
Lu Yanping suggested that the two regions deepen airspace management reforms and jointly apply to establish a "Chengdu-Chongqing Region Low-Altitude Economy Reform Pilot Zone," seeking national authorization to manage airspace below 1000 meters (extending to 3000 meters in specific areas). Simultaneously, she proposed forming a two-tier collaborative governance body and establishing a regular coordination mechanism to promote "regularized passage" for cross-provincial low-altitude flights.
Lu Yanping believes that the legal guarantee system should be improved promptly by accelerating local legislation, establishing a Sichuan-Chongqing legislative coordination mechanism, and improving a dynamic revision mechanism. She proposed that the two regions jointly formulate the "Chengdu-Chongqing Region Low-Altitude Economy Collaborative Development Regulations" to achieve "five unifications": flight rules, technical standards, approval procedures, regulatory enforcement, and liability determination.
Addressing the imbalanced infrastructure layout and prominent technical standards and data barriers, Lu Yanping called for coordinated infrastructure planning and unified technical standards and data platforms between the two regions. She also advocated compiling a unified "one map" for the Sichuan-Chongqing low-altitude economy, integrating an "industrial chain map + scenario map + airspace and landing facility layout map." Additionally, she emphasized unifying technical standards, co-building a big data collaborative management platform, and achieving integrated online handling of flight plans, integrated surveillance communication and navigation, and integrated emergency response.
**Co-building a "Digital-Intelligent Pilot Testing Corridor" to "Accelerate" the Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements**
Pilot testing and maturation is seen as a major "test" for scientific and technological achievements before they enter the market. It encompasses process verification, engineering development, and market adaptability testing that bridge the gap between laboratory research results and large-scale industrial production. Liu Min, a Chongqing CPPCC member and Vice Dean of the School of Microelectronics and Communication Engineering at Chongqing University, proposed that the Chengdu-Chongqing region should jointly create a "Digital-Intelligent Pilot Testing Corridor" through "digital-real integration and regional linkage" to accelerate the transformation of new quality productive forces.
Liu Min stated that in recent years, Chongqing has deeply implemented its "416" scientific and technological innovation layout, positioning pilot testing platforms as strategic nodes in the development of its "33618" modern manufacturing cluster system. While the pilot testing system construction has shown initial results, bottlenecks and obstacles remain in areas such as platform capability, regional coordination, and factor support.
These are mainly reflected in an "imbalance between software and hardware" in platform capability, with an insufficient number of key pilot testing platforms and a low level of "digital intelligence," alongside a lack of specialized, full-chain pilot testing platforms for key sectors. Secondly, regional coordination is inefficient, leading to duplicated layouts in popular fields and "gaps" in frontier areas, with institutional barriers hindering the cross-regional use of pilot testing equipment. Simultaneously, factor support is inadequate, lacking risk-sharing mechanisms and professional talent.
To address this, Liu Min called for the co-construction of a "Digital-Intelligent Pilot Testing Corridor" by Chengdu and Chongqing. She proposed implementing a "Digital-Intelligence Empowerment" action, setting up a municipal-level industrial simulation cloud platform to support small and medium-sized enterprises in using digital twin technology for "cloud simulation" to reduce physical verification losses, and creating benchmark "digital pilot testing bases" to lead the digital transformation of the "corridor."
Liu Min suggested that Chengdu and Chongqing deepen a "co-construction and sharing" mechanism, mapping the corridor's resources on a "single map," and using big data手段 to put pilot testing equipment from both regions "on the cloud and into a database" for intelligent supply-demand matching. She believes that high-capability pilot testing platforms co-built by the two regions should strive to be included in the national layout of major scientific and technological infrastructure. She also recommended implementing cross-domain universal redemption of "innovation vouchers" to support enterprises from both regions in purchasing pilot testing services across administrative boundaries, allowing factors to flow freely along the "corridor."
Regarding funding and talent support systems, Liu Min suggested weaving a "fund + insurance" risk control network, establishing a "Chengdu-Chongqing Pilot Testing Special Fund," and promoting "Pilot Testing R&D Liability Insurance" to fasten a "safety belt" for innovation. Secondly, she proposed implementing a "Chief Pilot Testing Officer" talent system, creating "Chief Pilot Testing Engineer" positions, establishing a separate "Engineering Technology Application" track in professional title evaluations, and collaborating with universities for "order-based" training to expand the contingent of interdisciplinary talent.
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