6 months ago
20
China is rapidly advancing its home-grown BeiDou
satellite navigation system
, aiming to bolster its market presence both domestically and internationally. According to a new report by the Global Navigation Satellite System and Location-Based Services Association of China (GLAC), the nation's satellite navigation market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.
The report revealed that the value of China’s satellite navigation and location-based services reached 536.2 billion yuan (US$74.2 billion) in 2023, marking a 7.09 percent increase from the previous year.
This growth is largely driven by the
BeiDou
system, China’s equivalent of the US Global Positioning System (
GPS
), which has expanded into various sectors, including chips, devices, algorithms, and data, a South China Morning Post report said.
With economic development recovering and industries undergoing digital transformation and intelligent upgrades, the demand for satellite navigation equipment and space-time data surged last year. The industry, which started with a market size of 12.7 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion) in 2006, now encompasses 20,000 market entities and provides employment for nearly 1 million people.
“It is expected that the sector will get back to the fast track of development in coming years,” the report said.
China launched its first BeiDou satellites in 2000 and officially unveiled its third-generation system in 2020, providing services to its partners in the Belt and Road Initiative. BeiDou, along with GPS, Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System (
GLONASS
), and the European Union’s Galileo, is one of the four core global satellite navigation providers, the SCMP report said.
During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to China, Beijing and Moscow agreed to strengthen cooperation in the application of BeiDou and GLONASS. The two countries aim to consolidate their long-term space partnership, which includes collaborative efforts on navigation systems and space programs, such as a planned international scientific research station on the moon.
The white paper highlighted that BeiDou’s growing international influence would drive its overseas applications. “Some domestic enterprises are vigorously expanding overseas markets, and the related revenues [are] growing significantly, reaching a year-on-year growth rate of 15 percent.”
BeiDou’s integration into consumer products is also notable, with 98 percent of domestically produced smartphones supporting BeiDou positioning functions last year. This widespread adoption underscores the system's importance in everyday technology and its potential for future growth.
