From satellite navigation to spy probes, anti-sat weapons and reusable space planes, Chinese technology is advancing at a fast pace
The new space race is heating up, with the United States warning that its major rival, China, is narrowing the gap as it makes rapid technological gains.
The Chinese navigation satellite system provides positioning, navigation and timing services worldwide.
Its network of 60 satellites has been in full global operation since 2020, with the final backup satellites launched in 2024.
Besides its civilian applications, BeiDou provides navigation and positioning services to all branches of the Chinese military with even higher precision in the Asia-Pacific than GPS offers the US military.
