China’s aerospace information industry is soaring, but financing needed to reach new heights
- China’s airspace information industry is expected to reach 44.69 billion yuan (US$6.3 billion) in 2025, with over 400 companies registered by the end of last year
- A joint industrial association and 100 billion yuan (US$14 billion) cluster investment fund was set up this week to boost the development of the industry
China has ramped up efforts to develop an aerospace information industry as Beijing aims to steer economic growth toward a tech-heavy path and gain a stronger footing amid its space technology rivalry with the United States.
But more private capital and entrepreneurship are needed as a catalyst to boost the industry, analysts said.
Listed as one of the eight frontier areas in the 14th five-year plan for 2021-25, the aerospace information industry infuses data captured in space with ground-based big data analytics to cater to a wide range of applications, including transport, energy, communications and the military.
The industrial chain spans satellites, data application services, artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning to support the processing of huge amounts of data captured by satellites in space.
On Monday at a forum in the southwest municipality of Chongqing, a group of companies, research agencies and space associations announced they would set up a joint industrial association to boost the development of the industrial chain.
