A Sino-French Cooperation Project in the Low-Altitude Economy
Source:Pinette  June 16, 2026
View:141

In Qingdao, a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Shandong province—one of China's most dynamic provinces—Cheng Dezhi, head of the Qingdao Low-Altitude Economy Industry Task Force, met with Erick Rousseau, chairman and CEO of the French Pinette Group, and attended the signing ceremony of a strategic cooperation agreement between the French Pinette Group and Natian Aviation Technology Development.

The project will focus on the research and development of new low-altitude materials and the manufacturing of high-end equipment, jointly establishing a composite materials R&D centre, a high-end manufacturing equipment base and a global supply guarantee service system for composite materials equipment and products. This is the first foreign investment project to be introduced and implemented in Qingdao's low-altitude economy industry in recent years. 

This signing not only marks another cornerstone in Qingdao's entry into a key node of the global low-altitude economy industrial chain, but also represents an important practice of pragmatic cooperation between China and France in the aviation field, demonstrating the international attractiveness of Qingdao's comprehensive strength in the low-altitude economy industry, its rule-of-law business environment and its convenient bonded policies, according to Qingdao municipal authorities. After its implementation, the project will leverage the policy advantages of the Jimo Comprehensive Bonded Zone to accelerate the introduction of advanced French processes and technical standards, creating high-end business formats such as bonded R&D design and bonded processing and manufacturing.

Pinette PEI -- China

With a history spanning over a century, the French Pinette Group is a specialist in processing, assembly and control solutions for composite materials, metals and recycled products. It provides design services and supplies moulding and testing equipment, automated production lines, customised engineering machines and turnkey factories. With a strong international presence, it has served numerous industries, including aviation, aerospace, shipbuilding, energy, defence, transportation, infrastructure, healthcare and the circular economy. In 2021, Pinette PEI co-founded Composites Academy, the first training platform dedicated to composite manufacturing processes for industry operators, technicians and engineers. In 2024, Pinette PEI  was a finalist at the JEC Innovation Awards for its automated preforming lines.

Based in Qingdao, in the Jimo district, Natian Aviation Technology Development operates in aircraft maintenance, aviation-related services, bonded customs operations and the low-altitude aviation sector (including drones, helicopters and related activities). In 2026, it carried out China's first bonded maintenance operation for a low-altitude helicopter.