Industry Insight | Shanghai Low-Altitude Planning, Amazon Global Expansion, Flying Cars Going Overseas, AECC's Five Pillars — Low-Altitude Economy Achieves Synchronized Breakthroughs Across Institutional, Market and Industrial Dimensions

Shanghai issues a resilient and safe city construction plan, promoting drone medicine delivery and low-altitude general aviation emergency response. Amazon drone delivery will expand to approximately 500 U.S. regions. The King of Jordan meets the founder of XPeng AeroTh during his state visit to China. The Party Leadership Group of Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC) publishes an article in People's Daily outlining five pillar industries including general aviation power. The low-altitude economy achieves synchronized breakthroughs across institutional, market and industrial dimensions.

1. Shanghai's 15th Five-Year Plan: Advancing Digital Aviation Rescue, Promoting Drone Medicine Delivery and Low-Altitude General Aviation Emergency Response

On August 18, the Shanghai Municipal Government issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for the Construction of a Resilient and Safe City in Shanghai, systematically deploying low-altitude economy applications in urban safety and emergency response.

The plan explicitly calls for professional rescue forces to "remedy shortcomings and forge strengths," advancing the construction of a digital aviation rescue platform and weaving a tighter space-air-ground integrated omnidirectional sensing network. For urban safety services, the plan proposes establishing a "zero-distance, warm-touch" urban safety service system, promoting the development of drone medicine delivery and "5-minute community first aid."

Regarding safety supervision in emerging fields, the plan requires strengthened safety regulation of emerging sectors including hydrogen energy, photovoltaics and low-altitude general aviation, advancing research on safety systems for low-altitude general aviation and other emerging fields, and formulating emergency response plans for low-altitude general aviation.

In addition, multiple Shanghai 15th Five-Year special plans simultaneously address the low-altitude economy: the 15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Service Industry in Shanghai supports the development of new smart logistics and warehousing formats such as low-altitude logistics and unmanned delivery; the 15th Five-Year Plan for Marine Development in Shanghai proposes strengthening basic research in areas including sea-air cross-domain unmanned swarms; the 15th Five-Year Plan for Accelerating the Construction of an International Shipping Center in Shanghai explicitly relies on the Hongqiao Airport Economic Demonstration Zone to build a Yangtze River Delta low-altitude economy headquarters cluster.

As a megacity, Shanghai has for the first time systematically embedded low-altitude economy applications into resilient and safe city construction. From emergency management and medical delivery to logistics warehousing and shipping services, the low-altitude economy is being fully integrated into the urban governance system.

2. Amazon Drone Delivery Major Expansion: To Cover Approximately 500 U.S. Regions

On August 20, Amazon announced that it will expand its drone delivery service to approximately 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of 2026. Currently operating in only 11 locations, this expansion represents the largest-scale commercialization push for Amazon's drone delivery business since founder Jeff Bezos first unveiled the drone concept in 2013.

Amazon has repeatedly upgraded its Prime Air drones, with the latest MK30 model capable of hovering a few feet above ground to drop packages. Consumers pay $4.99 per drone delivery, reduced to $2.99 for Prime members, with free shipping for orders over $50. Each delivery hub can cover multiple communities within an approximately 12-kilometer radius.

Amazon states that drone operation noise lasts only about 20 seconds — quieter than a lawnmower — and that flight altitudes and routes have been adjusted to minimize impact. The company believes the service is particularly useful for elderly people and families needing rapid item delivery.

Despite a small number of prior collision incidents, the program continues to advance steadily. Amazon's large-scale expansion demonstrates that the commercialization of global low-altitude logistics is transitioning from "pilot verification" to "large-scale replication."

3. King of Jordan Meets XPeng AeroTh Founder During State Visit, Opening New Opportunities for Flying Cars in the Middle East Market

From August 18 to 24, King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan paid a state visit to China. During the visit, King Abdullah II met with Zhao Deli, founder of XPeng AeroTh, in Shenzhen.

This meeting represented an important business segment of the King's China visit. As a leading enterprise in China's flying car sector, XPeng AeroTh's "Land Aircraft Carrier" flying car achieved mass production in 2026, with global orders exceeding 7,000 units. The King's meeting signals that Middle East market interest in Chinese flying car products is transitioning from "conceptual awareness" to "substantive engagement."

Jordan is an important country in the Middle East and a key node along the Belt and Road Initiative. This meeting provides an important high-level channel for domestically produced flying cars to expand into the Middle East market.

4. AECC Party Leadership Group Publishes in People's Daily: Building Five Pillar Industries Including General Aviation Power

On August 25, People's Daily published a signed article by the Party Leadership Group of Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC) titled Lifting the Chinese Dream with a Powerful "Chinese Heart". The article systematically outlines AECC's development strategy, explicitly proposing the construction of five pillar industries: commercial aviation power, general aviation power, civil gas turbines, systems and airborne equipment, and advanced materials and manufacturing services.

The article notes that over the past decade, AECC has driven significant progress in the aero-engine industry: the "Taihang" engine has achieved serialized and谱系化 development; a series of domestically produced equipment including the J-20, Y-20 and Z-20 are all powered by "Chinese Hearts"; the megawatt-class hydrogen-fueled aviation turboprop engine successfully completed its maiden flight; and multiple products including the AES100 turboshaft engine have successfully obtained certification.

In the general aviation power sector, the article explicitly lists general aviation power as one of the five pillar industries. This means AECC will systematically deploy the R&D and industrialization of general aviation engines, providing critical power support for the large-scale development of the low-altitude economy.

The article also mentions that AECC will continue to promote deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, building a shared, intensive and efficient community of endeavor through organized collaboration, continuously consolidating the "first curve" of military power事业 and developing the "second curve" of the five pillar industries.

Observation & Outlook

The four stories in this issue of Industry Insight precisely outline the synchronized breakthroughs of the low-altitude economy across three dimensions: institutional design, market expansion and industrial upgrading.

Shanghai's 15th Five-Year Plan completes the institutional embedding of the low-altitude economy from the perspective of urban governance — digital aviation rescue platforms, drone medicine delivery and "5-minute community first aid," low-altitude general aviation emergency response plans. The low-altitude economy is transitioning from "industrial policy" to a "standard feature of urban governance." Amazon's major drone delivery expansion validates the commercialization pathway of low-altitude logistics from a global perspective — 500-region coverage, MK30 model upgrades, large-scale operations. The business model for low-altitude logistics is being proven out on a global scale. The King of Jordan's meeting with XPeng AeroTh's founder opens a new channel for Chinese flying cars to enter the Middle East — interest from Belt and Road countries in Chinese low-altitude equipment is moving from "concept" to "substance." AECC's construction of five pillar industries including general aviation power provides the most critical foundational support for the large-scale development of the low-altitude economy — without an independently controllable "Chinese Heart," large-scale manufacturing and operation of low-altitude aircraft will always remain subject to external constraints.

The more complete the institutions, the more standardized the environment for industrial development; the broader the market, the more complete the commercial closed loop; the more autonomous the power systems, the more solid the industrial foundation. From institutional design to market expansion to industrial upgrading, the foundational framework of the low-altitude economy is rapidly taking shape.

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