Shenzhen’s Sky-High Ambitions: Unpacking the “Four Batches” Initiative and the Booming Low-Altitude Economy

Shenzhen is making serious moves to dominate the Low-Altitude Economy (Dikong Jingji 低空经济), and here’s the inside track on their strategy, including a focus on 2025 as a pivotal year.

This intel comes straight from a State Council Information Office press conference held on the morning of June 12, 2025.

Qin Weizhong (Qin Weizhong 覃伟中), Deputy Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee and Mayor, laid out the city’s game plan.

It’s clear: Shenzhen isn’t just dipping its toes; it’s diving headfirst into the future of flight.

Shenzhen: Pioneering the Low-Altitude Frontier in China

Mayor Qin highlighted that Shenzhen was the first city in China to roll out a special local regulation specifically for the Low-Altitude Economy (Dikong Jingji 低空经济).

That’s a big deal because it signals proactive governance and sets a precedent for other regions.

Here’s what they’re actively doing:

• Pushing for high-quality construction of Low-Altitude Economy (Dikong Jingji 低空经济) infrastructure.
• Launching and verifying operations of intelligent integrated infrastructure. This system is crucial for managing large-scale low-altitude flights with fine-grained spatiotemporal resource allocation. Think super-smart air traffic control, but for drones and more.
• Actively promoting full city coverage of integrated air-to-ground perception facilities.
• Speeding up the clustered development of the entire Low-Altitude Economy (Dikong Jingji 低空经济) industry chain.
• Improving the low-altitude flight service support system and standards.

And get this: Shenzhen is already a global leader in the output of consumer-grade and industrial-grade drones (Wurenji 无人机).

To date, the city has opened nearly 300 drone (Wurenji 无人机) routes and successfully completed over 1.7 million cargo flights.

That’s not just testing; that’s real-world application at scale.

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AI and Low-Altitude: The Twin Engines of Future Growth

Qin Weizhong (Qin Weizhong 覃伟中) emphasized that Artificial Intelligence (Rengong Zhineng 人工智能) and the Low-Altitude Economy (Dikong Jingji 低空经济) are quintessential examples of new quality productive forces.

These aren’t just niche sectors; they’re viewed as new blue oceans for global competition.

Shenzhen is laser-focused on cultivating both as key strategic emerging industry clusters.

The city is pooling its best resources and going all-in to accelerate and strengthen these industries, aiming for collective growth and significant impact.

How? Through a strategic framework dubbed the “Four Batches” initiative.

Deep Dive: Shenzhen’s “Four Batches” Initiative for Low-Altitude Dominance

This “Four Batches” plan is Shenzhen’s roadmap to ensuring its leadership in AI and the Low-Altitude Economy. Let’s break it down:

1. Accelerate Breakthroughs in Key Core Technologies.

This involves:

• Laying out more scientific and technological projects in Artificial Intelligence (Rengong Zhineng 人工智能) and the Low-Altitude Economy (Dikong Jingji 低空经济).
• Supporting businesses, universities, and research institutions in establishing high-level innovation platforms. This is about building the brainpower and R&D muscle.

2. Expedite Implementation of Reform and Innovation Measures.

This means:

• Fully implementing reform tasks related to AI and the Low-Altitude Economy as outlined in the “Opinions” (more on that crucial document later).
• Exploring more reform and innovation, particularly in areas like AI-assisted medical equipment and low-altitude airspace management. Cutting through red tape and fostering agility is key.

3. Continuously Introduce Demonstration Application Scenarios.

This focuses on practical application:

• Deepening the application of “Thousands of Industries + AI” across all domains, times, and scenarios.
• Expanding Low-Altitude Economy (Dikong Jingji 低空经济) applications such as:
  • Low-altitude logistics (think drone deliveries).
  • Low-altitude sightseeing.
  • Emergency rescue operations.
  • Agricultural and forestry plant protection.
• Accelerating these demonstrative applications, always with a strong emphasis on safety.

4. Cultivate and Strengthen a Batch of Technology Innovation Enterprises.

This is about nurturing the ecosystem:

• Providing targeted support for enterprises at different development stages (from startups to scale-ups).
• Promoting deep collaboration between upstream and downstream enterprises in the industry chain.
• Cultivating and attracting more high-growth innovation enterprises in Artificial Intelligence (Rengong Zhineng 人工智能) and the Low-Altitude Economy (Dikong Jingji 低空经济) that possess core competitiveness. Building champions, basically.

National Backing: Policy Tailwinds for Shenzhen’s Vision

It’s important to note that Shenzhen isn’t going it alone.

Just two days prior to Mayor Qin’s announcement, on June 10, a significant document was issued: the “Opinions on Deeply Advancing the Shenzhen Comprehensive Reform Pilot Program to Deepen Reforms and Innovation and Expand Opening Up.”

This came from the very top: the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council (Zhongban, Guoban 中办、国办).

This high-level directive specifically proposed supporting Shenzhen in:

• Deepening reform and innovation in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight management systems.
• Improving low-altitude flight regulation rules.
• Exploring cross-border helicopter flights, public welfare services, and other general aviation businesses.

This national-level endorsement provides serious momentum and signals a coordinated push.

China’s Broader Push: The Low-Altitude Economy Takes Flight Nationally

Since 2024, China has been strongly promoting the planned development of the Low-Altitude Economy (Dikong Jingji 低空经济) nationwide.

With top-level policies and local initiatives working in synergy, the plans for this burgeoning industry are continuously improving.

Various provinces and cities across China have clarified their goals for:

• Infrastructure scale.
• Route planning.
• Application scenarios.
• Manufacturing construction.

Most of these implementation periods are set between 2025 and 2030.

2025: The Tipping Point for Industrial Implementation?

Here’s where it gets really interesting for investors and industry watchers.

A research report from Founder Securities (Fangzheng Zhengquan 方正证券) on June 9 suggested that 2025 is likely to become the first year for the Low-Altitude Economy (Dikong Jingji 低空经济) to transition from initial planning to full-blown industrial implementation.

That’s a major milestone on the horizon.

But what needs to happen first? The report highlights a critical prerequisite: a relatively complete layout of new digital infrastructure.

This includes:

• Low-altitude intelligent networks.
• Air traffic control platforms and their peripheral facilities.
• Takeoff and landing sites (vertiports, etc.).

Without this digital backbone, scaling up the Low-Altitude Economy safely and efficiently would be a massive challenge.

Catalysts for Growth: Paving the Way for Large-Scale Construction

Analysts have pinpointed three key catalysts that can drive and support the large-scale construction of this essential new digital infrastructure:

1. National-level standard setting and planning: Clear rules of the road are essential.
2. Financial support: This includes local government bonds and subsidy policies. Money talks, and investment here will be crucial.
3. Increased demand for infrastructure driven by the implementation of application scenarios: As more uses for low-altitude flight emerge (like logistics and transport), the need for robust infrastructure will naturally grow.

China has already stated a clear goal: to achieve national low-altitude communication and navigation system coverage by 2025.

This indicates that large-scale construction is not just anticipated; it’s imminent.

The country has made substantial preparatory layouts for low-altitude development.

With these three catalysts expected to gradually fall into place, the Low-Altitude Economy (Dikong Jingji 低空经济) is poised to enter a phase of significant construction, all coordinated under a national low-altitude administration.

• National-level standard setting and planning
• Financial support (govt bonds, subsidies)
• Increased demand from application scenarios

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What This Means for You

Shenzhen’s proactive strategy, coupled with strong national support and clear industry-wide targets, paints a compelling picture.

For investors, founders, techies, and marketers, this rapid development in China’s Low-Altitude Economy (Dikong Jingji 低空经济), spearheaded by hubs like Shenzhen, presents a wave of new opportunities and challenges.

Keep an eye on 2025 – it could very well be the year this industry truly takes off.

With its “Four Batches” initiative, advanced drone capabilities, and a commitment to building out critical infrastructure, Shenzhen’s Low-Altitude Economy (Dikong Jingji 低空经济) is undeniably one to watch.

References

• 深圳“四个一批”加码低空经济 2025年或成产业落地元年 – 财联社
• Shenzhen issues comprehensive plan for low-altitude economy development – Shenzhen Government Online
• Low-altitude economy poised for rapid growth – China Daily
• China drone industry sees soaring growth with new applications emerging – Technode