The new twin-engine unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is designed for civilian use and successfully took off during a 20-minute test flight on August 11 in southwest China's Sichuan Province, state media reported.

This event takes place in the context that many countries are stepping up production and testing of UAVs capable of transporting all kinds of goods to consumers, according to Reuters.

With a wingspan of 16.1 m and a height of 4.6 m, the aircraft was manufactured by Sichuan Tengden Sci-tech Innovation. This UAV is larger than the world's most popular light aircraft, the Cessna 172, manufactured by the American aircraft company Cessna.

Tengden's test flight comes after the HH-100 cargo UAV prototype successfully completed its maiden flight in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province (northwest China) in June.

China’s civilian drone makers are now focusing on making larger payload aircraft as the government pushes to build a low-altitude economy . By 2023, China will have more than 2,000 companies involved in designing or manufacturing UAVs, led by the world’s largest UAV maker DJI.

China's aviation regulator expects the industry to be worth 2 trillion yuan ($279 billion) by 2030.

In a report this year, China for the first time identified the low-altitude economy as a new growth driver, with mobility being seen as a “new productive force” in areas such as passenger transport and cargo circulation. The low-altitude economy is a comprehensive economic form in the airspace below 3,000 meters, driven by low-altitude flights of manned and unmanned aircraft.