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China leads in GPS-style, reconnaissance and anti-satellite abilities, US report says

China is closing the space innovation gap with the United States and could take the lead if Washington doesn’t act, think tank warns

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Shenzhou-21 astronaut Wu Fei performs extravehicular activities outside China’s orbiting space station in April. Photo: Xinhua
Chao Kongin Beijing
China has leapfrogged the United States in a few mighty important sectors of space technologies: GPS-style navigation, spy-in-the-sky reconnaissance and even the ability to knock satellites out of orbit, according to a report from a US think tank.

The report from the Washington-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said China had rapidly built a powerful commercial space sector under strong state backing and was narrowing the innovation gap with the US.

“If the United States does not take decisive action soon, China will claim the top spot in the global space economy,” the report, released on June 8, said.

The warning comes as analysts project the global space economy could exceed US$1 trillion within the next decade. According to the report, China has already surpassed Russia as America’s main competitor in space.

“China’s space sector has gone from a nascent, slow-moving industry mostly led by state-owned enterprises to a robust, innovative commercial sector that trails only the United States in the global market,” said Ellis Scherer, an ITIF space policy analyst and author of the report.

“Most commercial space capabilities are dual use, with militaries relying most heavily on [positioning, navigation and timing], remote sensing, [low Earth orbit] broadband and anti-satellite weaponry.

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