Hong Kong Productivity Promotion Agency Signs MoU with International Advanced Technology Application Promotion Centre to Co-develop Dual Sandbox for Urban Air Mobility Economy

The Hong Kong Productivity Promotion Agency (Productivity Agency) and the National Advanced Technology Application Promotion Center (Greater Bay Area) (National Advanced Center) officially exchanged the Memorandum of Understanding on Hong Kong-Guangdong Province (Nansha) Full-Space Intelligent Unmanned System and Low-Altitude Economy Bilateral Sandbox Cooperation during the "Belt and Road Initiative High-Level Forum" on September 10, marking the official launch of the first-of-its-kind bilateral sandbox cooperation mechanism between Guangdong and Hong Kong in the low-altitude economy.

Promoting the Development of the Low-Altitude Economy

This collaboration will leverage Hong Kong's international institutional advantages and Nansha's full-space intelligent unmanned system test site resources, with drones serving as the initial application. The long-term goal is to advance the rule alignment, standard coordination, technical validation, and scenario application of the full-space intelligent unmanned system, exploring replicable cross-border low-altitude economic development models.

The cooperation is built upon previous exchanges and collaborative achievements in the fields of low-altitude economy and full-space intelligent unmanned systems. Preliminary work has already been conducted, including the design of the bilateral sandbox mechanism, analysis of standard differences between the two regions, and risk assessment framework studies. In-depth discussions have also been carried out on cross-border scenario validation, standard mutual recognition, and industrial collaboration.

The Future of the Full-Space Intelligent Unmanned System

Dr. Cheung Tsai-chang, Chief Technical Director of the Productivity Agency, stated that the low-altitude economy is moving from technological demonstration to large-scale application, with cross-border collaboration becoming a key driver for the next stage of development. He pointed out that this cooperation marks an important milestone in the collaboration between the two regions and signifies Hong Kong's further transition from an innovation testing platform to a regional rule co-builder.

Ms. Zhao Hui, Executive Director of the National Advanced Center, also emphasized that the bilateral sandbox is not only a cross-border testing channel but also a path for exploring "scenario-driven standards, standards-driven industry" cross-border collaboration. In the future, this cooperation mechanism will gradually extend to the full-space intelligent unmanned system areas such as unmanned vehicles and unmanned ships, promoting multi-dimensional coordinated development across sea, land, and air.

• The bilateral sandbox will provide enterprises and research institutions with a complete testing