The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (hereinafter referred to as the "Greater Bay Area") includes Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Macao Special Administrative Region. It is one of the most open and economically dynamic regions in China. Currently, the Greater Bay Area is taking the lead in laying out plans and accelerating the development of China's low-altitude economy industrial highland. Low-altitude economy industry data, sourced from Huoshi Industry Data Hub

Industrial Planning of the Greater Bay Area

From a planning perspective, Guangdong Province released the "Guangdong Province Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of Low-Altitude Economy (2024-2026)" in May this year, aiming to promote the integration of low-altitude manufacturing and services, as well as the mutual promotion of applications and industries, thereby creating a world-leading low-altitude economy industrial highland.

The cities in the Greater Bay Area have concentrated introduced relevant policies and actively laid out the new track of the low-altitude economy. Up to now, all nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area have introduced planning policies. These policies cover various aspects such as infrastructure construction, industrial development, technological innovation, policy guarantees, and financial services, providing strong support for seizing the high ground of the low-altitude economy industry. Table: Low-Altitude Economy Industrial Planning in Mainland Cities of the Greater Bay Area

Source: Huoshi Industry Data Hub

[Note] Hong Kong and Macao are not included in the statistics, the same below.

Low-Altitude Economy Industrial Space in the Greater Bay Area

From the perspective of industrial space, the Greater Bay Area has formed two "low-altitude economic crossover zones": one is a productive financial service belt centered on Hong Kong, Macao, and Shenzhen, such as Hong Kong International Airport, Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport, and Macao International Airport; the other is a production and manufacturing service belt centered on Guangzhou, Zhuhai, and Foshan.

From the perspective of industrial agglomeration, the Greater Bay Area has initially formed three major low-altitude industry clusters in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Zhuhai, basically forming a three-core linkage of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai, with supporting manufacturing in Foshan, Jiangmen, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, and other cities, creating a multi-point supported and contiguous low-altitude economy industrial layout.

Table: Key Low-Altitude Economy Industrial Parks Built or Under Construction in the Greater Bay Area

Source: Huoshi Industry Data Hub

Industrial Base of Key Cities in the Greater Bay Area

The Greater Bay Area is led by Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai, with each city having its own advantages in low-altitude manufacturing, operations, and services, initially forming characteristic industrial clusters.

Guangzhou is building a highland for low-altitude manufacturing. On the one hand, it aims to expand and strengthen the low-altitude economy manufacturing industry; on the other hand, it focuses on developing productive services in the low-altitude economy. Benefiting from its strong automotive industry, Guangzhou's vehicle and parts manufacturing industry can relatively easily transition to the low-altitude aircraft production chain. Currently, Guangzhou has laid a certain foundation in research and development manufacturing, drones, flight operations, and infrastructure support. Especially in the fields of flying cars and eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft), Guangzhou has gathered globally leading companies such as EHang, XPeng Aero, and GAC Group.

Table: Low-Altitude Economy Industrial Layout in Guangzhou

Source: Huoshi Industry Data Hub

Shenzhen is a pioneer in developing the low-altitude economy, known as China's drone capital. It is also a national comprehensive demonstration area for the general aviation industry, a pilot city for the reform of general aviation classification management nationwide, and a civil aviation administration unmanned aerial vehicle test area. It has formed a nationally leading low-altitude economy full industrial cluster and industrial ecology. According to Huoshi Industry Data Hub, in 2023, the annual output value of Shenzhen's low-altitude economy exceeded 90 billion yuan, with 77 drone routes opened and 73 new drone take-off and landing points constructed. Currently, Shenzhen has gathered over 1,700 enterprises in the low-altitude economy industrial chain, nurturing leading enterprises such as DJI, Flytech, Meituan Drone, CITIC Offshore Helicopters, and Eastern General Aviation. It has also attracted leading domestic and foreign eVTOL companies such as German Lily and Flyer Aerospace to set up operations, covering the upstream, midstream, and downstream of low-altitude manufacturing, low-altitude flight, low-altitude support, and integrated services. (For details on Shenzhen's industrial layout, please refer to: Competing for the "First City in Low-Altitude Aviation", Industrial Layout and Key Enterprises in Various Regions of Shenzhen)

Zhuhai is an important base for China's general aviation and one of the first batch of 26 national comprehensive demonstration areas for the general aviation industry determined by the National Development and Reform Commission. It boasts a cluster of aviation enterprises such as AVIC Tongfei, AVIC Aircraft, AVIC Helicopter, and AVIC Feilong. The drone and general aviation industrial chains have formed agglomeration advantages, with aircraft development capabilities ranking among the top in the country. Data from the Huoshi Industry Data Hub shows that Zhuhai has over 70 aviation and supporting enterprises, covering core components such as engines, electronic control systems, software control systems, low-speed countermeasures systems, and other key links in the industrial chain. It has basically formed an integrated development pattern of low-altitude manufacturing, low-altitude flight, low-altitude support, and integrated services. The output value in 2023 was 15.564 billion yuan.

Table: Low-Altitude Economy Industrial Layout in Zhuhai

Source: Huoshi Industry Data Hub

Overall, the Greater Bay Area boasts a solid industrial base and holds a national leading position in policy support, industrial supporting facilities, research and development innovation, and scenario applications.

According to Nanfang Daily, "Technology + Capital + Standards", Guangdong's low-altitude economy support system has been "upgraded" with the release of several achievements, including the Guangdong Low-Altitude Economy Industrial Brain, the Zhuhai Low-Altitude Economy Fund Cluster, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Low-Altitude Economy Industry Alliance Group Standards, empowering the construction of the low-altitude economy support system in the Greater Bay Area and safeguarding the steady development of the industry.

Competing in the trillion-yuan new track, the Greater Bay Area is becoming an important fulcrum for the vigorous development of China's low-altitude economy industry.