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US lawmakers warn China is top space rival as race to the moon intensifies
Beijing is using space for ‘diplomacy and influence’, US lawmakers claim amid growing competition with Washington
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Lucy Quagginin New York
China is the United States’ “most consequential threat and competitor in space,” leveraging its capabilities “as a tool of diplomacy and influence”, US lawmakers were told at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, as the two countries’ race to the moon intensifies.
The US and China are locked in a high-stakes space race, with both nations aiming to put astronauts on the moon in the coming years. While China has set a 2030 target for its first crewed lunar landing, the US’ Artemis programme aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface by 2028 and to begin establishing an outpost by 2030, setting up a tight race between the two superpowers.
“As nations align with either the US or China in standards, the winner will not just supply technology – it will set the terms by which information flows, networks interoperate, and how the world is seen,” said Kari Bingen, director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, at a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe.
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Randy Fine, a Republican congressman from Florida, told the hearing that when it comes to space, he is “very concerned about China, as I know many people are. I think China sees itself at war with us. I think we don’t oftentimes look at it the same way”.
The past year has seen several key developments in the modern space race, as the US completed the second successful mission in its Artemis programme and China made key advancements in preparation for its 2030 moon mission.
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The US remains the only country to have successfully put humans on the moon. Other nations, including China, India, and the former Soviet Union, have successfully landed robotic missions on the lunar surface.
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