Aiming for "world-class" goals, Hainan has established a new state-owned enterprise.

According to Hainan Daily, at the special session for Wenchang of the themed press conference series "Kickstarting the 15th Five-Year Plan" held in Hainan Province recently, the Wenchang authority revealed that Wenchang will go all out to build a world-class aerospace science and technology city, form a globally influential aerospace industrial cluster, and accelerate the realization of the goal of "manufactured in Wenchang, launched from Wenchang".

The press conference also introduced that the newly established Hainan Aerospace Group is positioned as a comprehensive implementation entity that undertakes major national tasks and infrastructure construction, as well as a core service entity that fosters the commercial aerospace industrial cluster. In the future, it will focus on the strategy of "driving industrial development with launch sites" to optimize and strengthen its core aerospace business, increase R&D investment to promote self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology, accelerate park development as an industry-city integration platform, and build an international cooperation window by leveraging the open advantages of the Free Trade Port, striving to build a world-class enterprise with influence across the country and even the globe by 2035.

At present, commercial aerospace has become a new focus of competition among major countries. In the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the government work report proposed to develop emerging pillar industries including aerospace, and "accelerating the building of a powerful aerospace country" was included in the key tasks of the national five-year plan for the first time, bringing profound reshaping of the industrial landscape.

Hainan occupies a pivotal position in the national commercial aerospace layout.

As early as 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce issued a document to support Hainan in building a world-class aerospace launch site with market-oriented operation, and promote the landing of the commercial aerospace industry chain in Hainan. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also proposed to support its affiliated universities to set up commercial aerospace innovation research institutes in the aerospace city.

In 2022, Hainan was approved to build China's first commercial aerospace launch site, which completed its first launch mission at the end of 2024. So far, it has achieved 21 consecutive successful launches, filling a key gap in the commercial aerospace launch chain in one go.

Leveraging its first-mover advantages, Hainan has further put forward the goal of building a 100-billion-yuan-level industrial cluster, aiming to seize the strategic opportunity period for the development of commercial aerospace and strive for a more important position in the national and even global commercial aerospace sector.

In simple terms, Hainan's development idea is to "drive industrial development with launch sites", taking the capability of the launch end as the traction to expand the rocket industry chain, satellite industry chain, data industry chain and "aerospace +" industries.

According to the plan, Wenchang International Aerospace City will form a full-chain industrial pattern covering satellite, rocket, measurement and control, and application by 2027, with operating revenue exceeding 50 billion yuan; by 2030, a 100-billion-yuan-level commercial aerospace industrial cluster will be fully completed, building a world-class commercial aerospace industrial base.

In this process, as a new wholly state-owned enterprise under the provincial government of Hainan, Hainan Aerospace Group may play an important role as the core operator.

According to the statement of the group at the aforementioned press conference, Hainan Aerospace Group will become the core development engine for the rise of Hainan's commercial aerospace industry and Wenchang International Aerospace City, and help the high-quality development of Hainan Free Trade Port by accelerating the cultivation and expansion of new quality productive forces in aerospace with "Hainan characteristics".

It is worth noting that Hainan Aerospace Group has clearly listed "international cooperation platform" as one of its key tasks, which is expected to help Hainan build differentiated competitiveness.

Leveraging the policy dividends of the Free Trade Port and the geographical advantage of being adjacent to Southeast Asia, there have been previous suggestions that in the future global aerospace market, Hainan can seize the initiative in the overseas competition of commercial aerospace. In addition to meeting domestic demand, it can also provide launch services for neighboring countries, and even explore business models such as global procurement and assembly.

This article is from the WeChat Official Account "City Evolution", the author is Liu Yanmei, and it is published by 36Kr with authorization.