On May 16, the 2025 First International Forum on Low-Altitude Economy Cooperation (ILCF) and the founding conference of the International Low-Altitude Economy Cooperation Alliance (ILCA) were held in Shenzhen. More than 200 representatives from government, industry, academia, research institutions, and related sectors around the world gathered to discuss new pathways for the global development of the low-altitude economy and to witness the birth of the first international cooperation platform in this field.
In recent years, the development of the low-altitude economy has been increasingly incorporated into strategic planning at both the macro and top-level design levels. The 2024 Government Work Report proposed actively developing new growth drivers such as the low-altitude economy. Meanwhile, China has introduced a series of major policies to accelerate airspace management reform, coordinate the planning of low-altitude economy development, and simplify the approval procedures for general aviation flights, providing institutional support and action guidelines for high-quality development in the sector. The convening of this first international forum and the establishment of the International Low-Altitude Economy Cooperation Alliance are positive steps in response to national strategy and in exploring new development models for the low-altitude economy.
Guangdong is a pioneer region and an important engine for the development of the low-altitude economy in China. It is home to more than 30 percent of the country’s low-altitude economy industrial chain enterprises, produces 90 percent of China’s consumer drones and more than 70 percent of the world’s consumer drones, and has formed a new development pattern of coordinated growth driven by the “three cores” of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai, alongside cities such as Dongguan, Foshan, and Zhongshan.
Wang Ping, President of the International Investment Promotion Association, said that the low-altitude economy has already become a new global industrial trend. China, the United States, the European Union, the Middle East, and other regions are all accelerating the deployment of low-altitude infrastructure and commercial applications, while also engaging in intense international competition and cooperation. Against this historical backdrop, the International Investment Promotion Association joined hands with Zhongbei Communication Group Co., Ltd. to host the first International Forum on Low-Altitude Economy Cooperation and jointly initiate the establishment of the International Low-Altitude Economy Cooperation Alliance, integrating global resources from government, industry, academia, and research to promote technology sharing, standard mutual recognition, market connectivity, and the building of an open, collaborative, and innovative global low-altitude economy ecosystem.
Li Liubing, Chairman of Zhongbei Communication Group Co., Ltd. and Chairman of Xingji Aviation Service (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., said in his remarks that Zhongbei Communication, after more than 30 years of deep cultivation in the communications sector and continuous investment in “artificial intelligence and new energy,” is officially entering the low-altitude economy sector. Leveraging its strong capital base, deep professional expertise, and robust innovation capability, the company aims to build a three-dimensional ecosystem of “6G + computing power + algorithms” to unleash the trillion-yuan potential of the low-altitude economy. Over the next three years, based on a three-tier model of “forum + alliance + operation,” the company will develop the International Forum on Low-Altitude Economy Cooperation into a global dialogue platform for the low-altitude economy, the International Low-Altitude Economy Cooperation Alliance into a global incubation platform integrating industry, government, academia, and research, and Xingji Aviation into a comprehensive solution provider centered on low-altitude economy hub ports. It will also establish low-altitude economy hub ports in key provinces and cities across China to foster the sustained and healthy development of the low-altitude economy industry.
At the forum opening ceremony, Shao Liyang, Deputy Dean of the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Southern University of Science and Technology; Cai Hengjin, Academician of the International Academy for Advanced Technology and Engineering and Professor at the School of Computer Science, Wuhan University; Ni Jianzong, President of the China Mobile Communications Association; and Yang Jincai, President of the World UAV Federation, delivered keynote speeches. Afterwards, 20 expert and business representatives took part in two roundtable discussions on the low-altitude economy.
At the opening ceremony, the International Low-Altitude Economy Cooperation Alliance (ILCA) was officially established. The alliance was jointly initiated by renowned universities, listed companies, UAV enterprises, and other institutions, with its first batch of members including more than 100 internationally recognized enterprises and research institutions. During the founding ceremony, ten representative enterprises jointly unveiled the Möbius strip logo symbolizing “integration and sustainability” through a laser-engraved startup column, marking a new stage in global collaboration for the low-altitude economy.
During the conference, six organizations — China Construction Second Engineering Bureau, China Construction Eighth Engineering Division, Zhuhai Low-Altitude Industry Investment and Operation Co., Ltd., Gansu Cultural Tourism Operation Service Group Co., Ltd., the State-owned Assets Operation and Management Co., Ltd. of Sanmenxia, Henan, and Shenzhen Shifang Ronghai Technology Co., Ltd. — signed strategic cooperation agreements with Xingji Aviation.
