← Low-altitude economy overview
CN
China — low-altitude economy in depth
Snapshot: August 2026 · open sources (CAAC, MIIT, Shenzhen Gov, People's Daily, company disclosures)
China treats the low-altitude economy as a national strategic industry — written into the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) alongside AI and quantum. It reached ~670bn yuan ($93B) in 2024 and is projected at ~1.5tn yuan ($211B) for 2025 and ~3.5tn yuan ($488B) by 2035. Nearly 30 provinces have embedded it in their plans; the Greater Bay Area (Shenzhen–Guangzhou–Zhuhai) is the operational core.
The hubs
City of the SkyShenzhen
Role National leader. Makes ~70% of China's consumer drones and ~50% of industrial drones; home to 1,700+ low-altitude enterprises — the world's most complete industry chain.
1,200+ take-off/landing sites and 310+ logistics routes built; backed by 12bn yuan ($1.7B) over two years. Dedicated low-altitude legislation and a 3D digital airspace map (Air Amap).
Shenzhen in depth →
eVTOL capitalGuangzhou & the GBA
Role Home of EHang; GBA GDP ~$2.15tn across 86M people. Guangdong targets a 300bn-yuan ($41B) sector by 2026, +2,500 take-off points and 20 helipads.
A cross-border Shenzhen–Hong Kong low-altitude logistics route is in pilot; the GBA splits into a manufacturing belt (Guangzhou–Zhuhai–Foshan) and a services belt (HK–Macao–Shenzhen).
Guangzhou & GBA in depth →
R&D clusterHefei
Role 100+ low-altitude firms (EHang, ZeroG); a $100M EHang–Hefei municipal partnership. Daily EH216 flight tests at the former Luogang airport.
Complete intelligent-manufacturing cluster; two vertiports planned. Beijing/Shanghai focus on top-level design and safety rules rather than volume operations.
Hefei in depth →
Operators & real projects
EHang
Status World's first Type + Production + Air Operator certificates for an autonomous passenger eVTOL (EH216-S). Paid sightseeing flights in Guangzhou & Hefei; Q2 2025 adjusted net income ~9.4M yuan on ~147M revenue.
VT20 logistics eVTOL flew an 83 km pilotless Zhuhai↔Guangzhou cargo run (~55 min, saving 40+ min vs road). 1,000+ EH216-series orders.
Meituan
Status 65+ drone-delivery routes across Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou (Nov 2025). 4th-gen drone works −20°C to 50°C; night delivery live in Shenzhen since Sept 2025, orders doubling.
New 1.4 m² transfer hubs (vs 80 m²) let small shops join. LiDAR navigation removes satellite/visual dependence — the last route-economics constraint.
SF Express (Fengyi)
Status Thousands of autonomous cargo flights daily in Shenzhen; medical supplies and takeaway delivered in ~10 minutes on fixed short routes — the earliest-commercialized use case.
Fixed flight paths simplify regulatory oversight, making logistics the proven revenue vertical while passenger transport remains the frontier.
AutoFlight · XPeng · DJI
Status AutoFlight flew China's first 250 km intercity eVTOL (Shenzhen–Zhuhai) and launched a water-based vertiport at Dianshan Lake. XPeng AeroHT holds 7,000+ orders. DJI: ~70% global drone share.
Order books (XPeng 7,000+, AutoFlight 2,000+, Volant 1,920+) signal near-term demand; the variable is intent-to-confirmed conversion at volume.
Achievements & problems
- Achieved — 776,000 cargo drone flights in Shenzhen in 2024 (+27% YoY); world-first certified autonomous passenger eVTOL; fast-track CAAC airspace framework since 2023.
- Achieved — the revised Civil Aviation Law (effective July 2026) gives drones legal aircraft status, the foundation for scaled operations.
- Problem — airspace management: low-altitude corridors, UTM and de-confliction still being built; scaled passenger transport lags cargo.
- Problem — commercialization slower than hype (EHang stock pullback); battery range (~30 km) gates eVTOL until solid-state (300–500 Wh/kg) arrives 2026–2028.
- Problem — provincial targets vary from funded construction schedules (Shenzhen) to aspirational statements; execution ≠ announcement.
Why this matters for your project
China is the world's deepest low-altitude supply base and a natural technology donor for the corridor — from consumer/industrial drones to eVTOL platforms, components and the full manufacturing chain concentrated in the GBA.
- Component & platform sourcing: motors, batteries, sensors, airframes and complete drones for licensed transfer and local assembly under EAEU / ASEAN certification.
- Proven operating models to localize: fixed-route logistics, agricultural spraying, inspection — recurring-revenue services, not one-off hardware sales.
- Cross-border precedent (Shenzhen–HK pilot) maps directly to corridor routes; iBridgetrue screens partners under export-control scrutiny.
Indicative market snapshot compiled from open sources (industry trackers and vendor disclosures) as of August 2026, for informational purposes only. Figures are estimates and vary between sources; this is not investment advice. iBRIDGE operates in Advisory mode.
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