By LI Linxu

As a well-known city of drones, Shenzhen is leading the way in the development of world's low-altitude economy.

By the end of 2023, Shenzhen had more than 1,700 drone companies, with an annual output value of 96 billion RMB, up 28 percent year-on-year, ranking first in the country, according to the latest statistics.

The city's drones are continuously gaining traction overseas. In the sector of consumer grade drones, Shenzhen takes up 70 percent of the global market, while in the field of industrial-grade drones, it owns half of the global market share.

Besides drones, the city's low-altitude economy is also booming in low-altitude manufacturing, low-altitude flying, and integrated services, with various application scenarios such as tourism, logistics, tour-inspection, surveying and mapping.

By the end of 2023, Shenzhen had launched 126 low-altitude routes, and constructed 89 drone takeoff and landing points.

A drone works in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

In recent years, Shenzhen has rolled out a series of policies to unlock the potential of low-altitude economy and formed a vibrant low-altitude ecosystem of industries.

In 2022, the city released a three-year implementation plan to promote the innovation and development of low-altitude economy.

The following year, developing low-altitude economy was written into the city's government work report for the first time.

Last December, the city rolled out 20 measures to support the high-quality development of low-altitude economy, including cultivating an industrial chain, promoting sci-tech innovation, and expanding application scenarios.

This month, Shenzhen unveiled a regulation, the first of its kind in the country, to promote the industries of low-altitude economy.

The regulation covers areas including infrastructure, flying services, industrial applications, and technological innovation.

It vows to deepen international cooperation in the field of low-altitude economy, and encourages local enterprises, research institutes, and industrial associations to participate in local, national and international standards.

Thanks to such a favorable environment, the annual output of Shenzhen's low-altitude economy is on the way to surpass 100 billion RMB soon.

The low-altitude economy has become a new driving engine of economic growth, said an official from Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Transport, adding that the city will speed up the fostering and opening-up of low-altitude application scenarios and strive to cultivate the most diverse application scenarios in the world.