Delegation members of the Vibrant China Research Tour, from June 25 to 26, visited high-tech manufacturing firms in Shenzhen. All the firms possess the vision and capacity to go overseas and are willing to cultivate overseas markets.
The low-altitude economy has been thriving in Shenzhen as it seeks to capture overseas markets. United Aircraft, a leading domestic drone manufacturer in the unmanned industry based in Shenzhen, aims to explore more opportunities for further development.
Li Xiaoliang introduces the drone for transportation in Shenzhen on June 26, 2025.
"The market size for overseas drone markets is currently still in the blue ocean phase, and the demand is also relatively large," Li Xiaoliang, General Manager of United Aircraft Shenzhen base, told South.
According to Li, their products sold overseas are dominant due to the technological advantages, production capacity, and cost of Chinese drones.
Currently, Li noted that Belt & Road countries are most interested in Chinese drones. Each month, United Aircraft receives inquiries from enterprises in countries along the Belt and Road Routes, including Central Asia, West Asia, South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa.
A female worker checks a part of the drones produced by United Aircraft, in Shenzhen, on June 26, 2025.
The two types of products that these countries are most interested in are aviation-grade drones, as they need alternatives to replace their helicopters, and agricultural plant protection drones, particularly for some large agricultural countries in Central Asia.
In addition to drones, firms focusing on cutting-edge robot manufacturing are also clustered in this promising city. Orbbec, a leading global enterprise in robot vision and AI technology based in Shenzhen, is dedicated to creating the "eyes" of robots.
Huang Yuanhao, Founder, Chairman & CEO of Orbbec, informed South that they have a global presence across the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region.
Zhong Lianghong introduces a 3D camera to the South reporter, in Shenzhen, on June 25, 2025.
Currently, according to Zhong Lianghong, Robotics Product Center Director of Orbbec, their products have been sold to more than 100 countries and regions around the world. Responding to demand in overseas markets, most of their products are now sold in Europe and the United States.
Since its launch in 2013, Orbbec has collaborated with top-tier tech enterprises like HP, Microsoft, and NVIDIA.
As Zhong explained, HP was their first client among Fortune 500 firms. In 2016, Orbbec developed a desktop scanner for HP.
"Its first-generation product was not ours, but from a foreign brand. After evaluating our product for the second generation, they found that our product had better performance and chose ours for the second generation," he added.
Nudging a 3D camera named Femto Bolt in the cabinet, Zhong told the South reporter that this is the series product that Orbbec collaborated on with Microsoft.
Regarding Femto Bolt, Zhong detailed that Microsoft originally intended to fabricate new products but later shifted its business focus to cloud computing, hoping that this product could continue to be produced.
After searching many 3D sensing companies worldwide, Microsoft ultimately selected Orbbec as its sole partner to help continue production. Femto Mega is another type of product in the series, with technology that encompasses Orbbec, Microsoft, and NVIDIA's chip.
Robots produced by EngineAI Robotics, in Shenzhen, on June 25, 2025.
After visiting several tech firms in Shenzhen, one might wonder why Shenzhen can nurture numerous AI and hi-tech firms, from start-ups to unicorns. Ding Ning, Executive Associate Director of the Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, analyzed the natural endowments of the GBA.
According to Ding's observation, the previous industrial base and structure in the GBA were still mainly based on the 3C manufacturing industry, namely computer, communication, and consumer electronics.
"The GBA excels at making delicate products," he pointed out. "In this regard, the GBA has accumulated a robust supply chain and manufacturing capability."
He quoted Jensen Huang, founder of NVIDIA, who stated at a conference at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology that the GBA has the most powerful software and hardware capabilities on the planet.
Reporter: Zhang Ruijun
Video editor & Poster: Guo Hongda
Photo: Zhang Ruijun
Editor: Yuan Zixiang, James, Shen He
