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Commercial Aerospace: The Next Launchpad for the Chinese Economy

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BEIJING, March 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — By China Report ASEAN

On December 29, 2023, the first launch service tower was completed at the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Center, marking a key step forward in building the launch capacity of China’s first commercial aerospace launch site. On December 10, a Hyperbola-2 methane-liquid oxygen reusable verification rocket was launched successfully, marking the first recovery of reusable carrier rockets in China.

Continuous implementation of relevant policies has steered China’s commercial space industry into a fast lane of development. Many industry insiders believe that China’s space industry has already reached the first stage of commercialization in many areas. However, challenges coexist alongside achievements, which calls for breakthroughs.

Initial Concentration of the Space Industry

Commercial space activities are non-governmental profit-seeking activities featuring allocation of technology, capital, talent and other resources according to market rules. The realm is an important force for the innovation and development of China’s space industry. Private enterprises account for about 92 percent of China’s commercial space companies.

On November 26, 2014, the State Council released guidelines on social investment in the commercial space industry, which stated that “private capital is encouraged to participate in the construction of national civil space infrastructure, and companies with the intention to join the space industry are allowed to make massive private investment.” Since then, China’s commercial space industry has developed for nearly 10 years.

In recent years, even more preferential policies have been released to drive the commercial space industry. According to incomplete statistics, more than 10 relevant policies have been issued since 2014. With that encouragement and support, the once relatively obscure space industry has gradually opened up. Furthermore, the boom of foreign commercial space companies led by SpaceX has resulted in a market demonstration effect for Chinese commercial space companies including Galactic Energy, LandSpace, iSpace, and Guodian Gaoke.

To seize the important opportunities brought by commercial space development, several Chinese cities such as Beijing, Xi’an, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Wuhan, and Ningbo have successively formulated relevant action plans or support policies to promote the development of the commercial space industry, accelerate the layout of the entire space industrial chain, and make breakthroughs in key and core technologies. Commercial space industrial parks have sprung up, shaping the concentration of the space industry.

Policy support and guidance has helped the growth of the industry. According to a report released by the Institute of Future Astronautics (FutureAerospace), the number of commercial space enterprises registered and effectively operating in China had reached 433 as of late 2022, with 43 commercial satellite constellation programs already implemented in areas such as commercial communications, remote sensing, navigation, and technology verification.

At the same time, China’s commercial space industry has made new breakthroughs in technological innovation. For example, the launch of Zhuque-1 marked the first attempt made by a Chinese private space company to send a carrier rocket into space, and Zhuque-2 became the world’s first liquid oxygen methane rocket successfully launched into orbit. With the successful launch of the Hyperbola-1 carrier rocket, iSpace became the world’s third and China’s first private company to launch a rocket into orbit. 

According to data from Ai Media Consulting, from 2015 to 2021, China’s commercial space industry maintained an average growth rate of 22.3 percent and is expected to grow to more than 2.3 trillion yuan (about US$320 billion) in 2024. Research firm Taibo Intelligence forecast the overall scale of China’s domestic commercial space market to reach 2.8 trillion yuan (about US$389 billion) by 2025.

Promoting Coordinated Development of Derivative Industries

Divided according to the industrial chain, the upstream commercial space industry includes rocket manufacturing, satellite manufacturing, and related supporting equipment. The industry’s midstream involves satellite launching and ground equipment manufacturing. Downstream is defined as terminal application and the service market. Traditional application scenarios include communication, navigation, and remote sensing, while emerging application scenarios include satellite internet, space travel, space mining, and deep space exploration.

“The industrial chain of China’s commercial space industry has already taken shape,” commented Gu Xingfa, an academician with the International Academy of Astronautics and the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences and president of the Chinese National Committee for Remote Sensing. “Driven by demand, policy, and technology, the development of the industry has indeed entered a critical stage.”

Research from Sealand Securities, a wealth management platform, has divided the commercial space industrial chain into an upstream of satellite research and development, midstream of rocket launch services and ground equipment manufacturing, and downstream of satellite applications and services. So far, several private enterprises have been cultivated within each link of the industrial chain and have interacted with state-owned enterprises to form a preliminary industrial ecology, which is improving gradually.

In terms of commercial value, data from Ai Media Consulting showed that by the end of 2021, ground equipment manufacturing and satellite application and operation occupied the highest proportion of the market size among all links of the commercial space industry with each contributing 45 percent of revenues. They are the links of the commercial space industry that became profitable first. Meanwhile, satellite manufacturing and launch services in the upstream of the industrial chain remain at the preliminary stage, with both contributing about 10 percent of revenues.

Thus, the capital market is also gradually clarifying the direction of the commercial space industrial chain for the future. When a commercial rocket is launched today, satellite manufacturing and the rocket launch industry represent only 10 percent of the value across the entire space industrial chain, indicating that tremendous space remains for exploration with regard to the key parts and components for rockets and satellites.

“Without good products in the supply chain, there would be no good system integration products,” said Yang Yiqiang, chairman and president of CAS Space. He also identified rockets and satellites as still the hotspots for investment in China’s commercial space industry. However, many rocket and satellite companies have already emerged, and some have assumed leadership positions within the sector. The continued influx of capital will probably cause internal friction between those companies. Therefore, investors might want to focus more on the upstream of the industrial chain (e.g. engines, components) as well as on satellite applications in the downstream (e.g. navigation, remote sensing).

A space industrial chain consists of many links. From R&D and launch in the upstream to operation and application in the downstream, almost every link can create a market with an annual output of 100 billion yuan (US$14 billion). Zhang Shijie, chief scientist at Galaxy Space, noted that new commercial space companies have played a lead role in key links of the commercial space industrial chain thanks to their expertise and established an effective business operation model, which has contributed to the large-scale development of the commercial space industry.

Chen Xiaohong, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, once proclaimed that data is one of the core elements of the modern industrial system, the power source for the new engine of the digital economy, and the frontier of global digital competition. The commercial space industry, one of the main advancement trends of the technology industry in the era of the digital economy, can help the digital economy break through geographical restrictions, promote in-depth development of the industrial internet for people from all walks of life, and accelerate the digitization of the industry. Especially in the areas of satellite information and space technology, satellite data can enrich application scenarios and innovate business models, which will effectively empower the digital transformation of society and the development of the digital economy while facilitating construction of digital governments.

Financing Difficulties and Cost Obstacles

Although broad prospects for the development and application of the commercial space industry have emerged, many difficulties remain hindering business model maturation and large-scale development. Although the commercial model conceived by SpaceX is feasible, in essence, it does not change the industry’s characteristics of “hardcore technology,” namely, high costs, high risks, and long cycles.

“The commercial space industry is essentially space activities for profit,” opined Ji Haibo, deputy general manager of iSpace and chief designer of its liquid-propellant rockets. “It took SpaceX more than 20 years to make a profit. Such a long development cycle is facilitated by the patience and persistence of the company and capital.” He considers it necessary to tackle numerous bottlenecks restraining China’s private commercial space industry to make it a market-oriented prosperous industry with considerable dividends.

But from the perspective of economic scale and overall corporate valuation, China’s commercial space industry is still relatively small, with very few companies making any profits with rockets and satellites. 

“The biggest obstacle hindering the development of the commercial space industry is the high launch cost,” commented Ji. The same goes for all launch vehicles. The cost of rockets must come down to cut the cost of launching satellites into the sky, which will reduce costs for satellite operators. The reduced cost will in turn accelerate satellite networking, providing consumers access to satellite internet at a higher speed with a lower cost. Such a development would make the commercial logic of the commercial space industry complete and functional. For everyone involved in the industry, the only path to the maximum input-output ratio is realization of reusable carriers, including rockets.

Ji also noted that the focus of competition in China’s private commercial space industry has shifted from launching rockets into the sky to reducing the cost of launches and ensuring sufficient capacity and flight reliability. In essence, it has entered a stage of competition in services.

Liu Baiqi, founder and CEO of Galactic Energy, discussed the factors restraining the development of China’s private space industry in an interview. “The main factors are financing difficulties and limited infrastructure resources,” he said. “The rapid flow of human resources and kinks in the supply chain are also major restraints.”

Most space talent is still concentrated in state-owned enterprises, and several founders of private commercial space companies left a position at a state-owned enterprise. Without stable human resources, private commercial space companies face problems such as insufficient innovative R&D capabilities.

“Policy has never been the key factor affecting the development of the industry,” commented Niu Min, founder of FutureAerospace. “The current shortfall is capital investment.” Seeking to identify the essence of the business, Niu sees satellites as a core value of the commercial space industry. The economic value it creates must be profitable enough to cover the costs, he explained, and only when costs are covered will the loop of the business model close. However, the loop is still wide open for more Chinese private commercial space companies. 

Activating a Trillion-Yuan Market

As a new business form within the space industry, commercial space activities feature rapid upgrading, high economic returns, and strong industrial synergy. They represent an extremely important new growth pole for the Chinese economy as well as important support for China to evolve from “a major player” to “a major power” in the space industry.

According to a prediction by Taibo Intelligence, China’s commercial space sector will be in a golden era of development from 2023 to 2028 with an estimated market scale of 2.8 trillion yuan (US$389 billion) in 2025. Furthermore, the continuous integration of communication, navigation, and remote sensing, coupled with increasing demand for industry applications, should ensure continued expansion of application scenarios.

“China’s private commercial space sector will continue to grow,” said Niu Min. “After nearly 10 years of development, the Matthew effect (rich getting richer and poor getting poorer) has happened in the industry, which has basically determined a competition pattern of more capital invested in leading companies. However, industry is developing in the direction of maturity. This realm is expected to grow rapidly in 2024. By 2027, China will embrace the era of a space economy at a larger scale.”

In Niu’s view, China will enter the new era when three things happen: First, satellite constellations are built on a large scale, carrier rockets launched with high intensity, and low-cost large-scale liquid-propellant rockets recovered and reused. Second, more than 100 billion yuan (US$14 billion) is invested in the commercial space industry. Third, the next-generation space economy would emerge.

“The commercial space industry has bright prospects,” concluded Liu Baiqi. “The continuous progress of technology and increasing market demand will likely push the industry to grow rapidly in the next few years.”

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SOURCE China Report ASEAN

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Faith: The Spark Born by the Yudu Riverside

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October 18, 2026

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BEIJING, Oct. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — An interview from China.org.cn with Wang Xiaohui and David Ferguson on the Long March:

David Ferguson:

This is the Yudu River. One dusk in October, 1934, more than 86,000 soldiers of the Red Army crossed this river and embarked on the Long March, a two-year saga that has left its mark in history.

Yet, lingering here by the river, I am struck by a simple question: If you have faith in a bright future, and reality seems to thwart you at every turn, where do you find the moral strength to keep believing?

Wang Xiaohui:

At dusk on Oct. 17, 1934, an army of more than 86,000 troops gathered along the banks of the Yudu River. Over 800 boats of all sizes floated on the water, bound together with planks collected from villagers’ home gates, timber beams, and even coffin boards reserved for elderly locals. The people of Yudu built this pontoon bridge, determined to help the army led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) cross the river.

At that time, no one knew that the great expedition embarked upon by the banks of the Yudu River would go on to transform China and exert far-reaching influence across the world.

China in the 1920s and 1930s was plagued by chaos and despair.

The Kuomintang (KMT), the ruling party back then, was not capable of unifying the nation, leaving warlords locked in endless fighting. In 1931, Japanese invaders launched an assault on northeastern China, beginning their invasion. Crushed under domestic turbulence and foreign aggression, countless civilians were displaced, with many even starving to death on the streets; in certain regions, severe drought resulted in zero harvests, yet the farmers were forced to pay land taxes assessed for more than a decade into the future.

Amid this turmoil, the only glimmer of hope for the Chinese nation was kindled by the revolution ignited by the Communist Party of China.

The CPC, dedicated to winning liberation for the people and national independence, built contingents of workers’ and peasants’ Red Army troops and revolutionary base areas across the countryside. Impoverished farmers were granted land ownership, as well as unprecedented political dignity. On Nov. 7, 1931, the Chinese Soviet Republic was officially proclaimed in Ruijin, then a small village in southeastern China’s Jiangxi Province, establishing a Soviet system under which workers, peasants and soldiers elected representatives to run regional affairs and make policies.

The communist ideal of a fair society free from exploitation and equality for all blazed like a spark in the darkness; it kindled hopes among impoverished Chinese and became the wellspring of faith that enabled the Red Army — a force made up of poor workers and peasants — to overcome all hardships in the days to come.

Yet, bright as the spark was, it burned thin and fragile at times. Could this flame still endure when the ideals it carried were repeatedly battered by harsh reality?

In September 1933, flocks of warplanes clouded the skies over the Red Army’s revolutionary base areas. By then, Japanese invaders were steadily advancing towards North China, but Chiang Kai-shek’s KMT turned a blind eye to the looming national crisis. They mobilized over a million troops and more than 200 aircraft to launch a massive offensive at the Red Army’s base areas. Over the previous three years, Chiang Kai-shek had mounted four major military “encirclement” campaigns aimed at exterminating the Red Army, but all ended in failure. He was desperate for a pivotal victory to restore his prestige and to wipe out the CPC and the Red Army.

At the time, the commander of the Red Army abandoned mobile warfare tactics pioneered by Mao Zedong and other commanders, opting instead for rigid positional warfare involving conventional head-on clashes. But the reality was, some Red Army units didn’t even possess a single light machine gun; how could they confront the heavily-armed KMT army head-on?

Zhong Ming, a Red Army medic, could never erase the memories of gravely wounded soldiers being carried to his aid station. He remembered how a soldier whose chest was blown open begged his comrades to end his life. At the frontline, a whole battalion of Red Army soldiers religiously followed orders to defend crude earth-and-wood bunkers, but under the constant barrage of KMT artillery and airstrikes, every soldier in the battalion laid down their lives; not a single man survived.

What’s more heart-wrenching is that no matter how fearlessly the Red Army fought, the steep imbalance in military strength, paired with erroneous military command led to irreversible losses. By October 1934, the KMT’s iron-clad encirclement closed menacingly around Ruijin.

Faced with this dead-end, what decision would you make?

This stood as the most agonizing decision for the Red Army. The biggest challenge lay not in sacrificing one’s life for an ideal, but in finding a way to keep the revolutionary cause alive.

To stay meant defeat — the Red Army had no room to maneuver within the Central Revolutionary Base Area. To break through the encirclement, however slim the odds, offered a fighting chance. Preserving the Red Army as a living force mattered much more than clinging to isolated strongholds. Where the spark survives, the path ahead remains lit.

The air already turned chilly in October. Units of the Central Red Army assembled in Yudu to prepare for a strategic shift. The plan was kept strictly classified; none of the soldiers knew they were evacuating the base areas, only sensing an unusual vibe.

At dusk on Oct. 17, crowds lined up at the Yudu riverbank. Tens of thousands of villagers flocked from every corner to see the Red Army off. They walked alongside the marching columns, slipping food like eggs and glutinous rice balls into the soldiers’ pockets, praying for their swift homecoming.

The main force of the Central Red Army set off. Within days, they left behind revolutionary base areas where they had survived, grown and taken root. No one anticipated that the journey they embarked on would become the Long March, a trek spanning over 10 provinces. Still less could anyone imagine that this journey would ultimately pave the way for a brand-new China.

Looking back on this chapter of history, many claim that the Red Army only set out on this expedition because the enemies left them no other choice. To a degree, yes, the Long March was indeed a forced strategic shift, yet this fact does nothing to diminish its greatness and glory.

The ordinary Red Army soldiers had no idea how far they would march, or where they were heading. But they clung firmly to their founding mission: to deliver liberation for the people and independence to the nation. This unswerving conviction kept them from disintegrating through countless perils, sustaining them as they marched into the unknown with resolve.

David Ferguson:

I now realize that faith and ideals untested by harsh reality may have no true substance.

Since its founding, the Communist Party of China has always upheld the realization of communism as its fundamental goal. Despite devastating losses and extreme adversity, the Red Army continued to press forward resolutely and never faltered. Its inner strength came from an unshakable belief in the cause, an unwavering commitment to the founding aspiration, and a profound sense of mission. The Red Army was never fleeing pursuers in search of safety; it was marching forward to a future in which it had a steadfast belief.

Wang Xiaohui:

The Long March went on for two years. The Red Army trekked 25,000 li across some of China’s harshest terrain, but they kept their heads high, seeking hope amid despair and marching towards light through unending darkness. The lofty ideals and sense of mission they upheld have also become the torch that guides generations of CPC members in the following centennial, tempering them into steel as they press forward unswervingly toward national rejuvenation.

That spark lit along the Yudu River has never dimmed since.

China Mosaic
http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

Faith: The Spark Born by the Yudu Riverside
http://www.china.org.cn/2026-10/16/content_118736835.shtml

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SOURCE China.org.cn

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Linktel Technologies Highlights Breakthrough 1.6T LPO Performance & Strong Market Pull at OCP 2026

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October 18, 2026

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SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — At the recent 2026 OCP Global Summit, Linktel Technologies showcased its cutting-edge optical interconnect portfolios engineered specifically for next-generation AI computing networks. Among the heavy lineup, Linktel’s 1.6T Linear Pluggable Optics (LPO) solutions commanded immense industry attention, drawing heavy customer interest for their unprecedented energy efficiency, ultra-low latency, and supply-chain resilience.

Spotlight: 1.6T LPO Performance & High Customer Traction

AI data centers face immense scaling pressures, demanding higher bandwidth densities with tighter thermal and power budgets. Linktel’s 1.6T LPO solutions—highlighted by the 1.6T LPO 2DR4—delivered standout performance metrics that captured the spotlight at the summit:

Ultra-Low Power Consumption: Operates with power consumption as low as an impressive 10W, drastically mitigating data center cooling and power loads.Minimal Latency: Features a linear optics architecture that cuts down signal processing delays, making it a critical asset for high-performance AI scale-out fabrics.Enhanced Supply-Chain Resilience: Eliminating the optical DSP mitigates component choke points, ensuring robust scalability for mass deployments.Proven Interoperability: Following its breakthrough performance and multi-switch platform interoperability at the early September 2026 1.6T LPO-MSA Plugfest, Linktel has laid a solid foundation for the 200G-per-wavelength ecosystem.

Surging Market Interest

Throughout OCP 2026, Linktel’s live demonstrations of its 1.6T LPO, LRO, and FRO modules drew crowds of data center architects and industry partners. With volume production already in place, Linktel is fully equipped to meet the exploding market demand for energy-efficient, high-density 1.6T connectivity.

Overview of Other Innovations at OCP 2026

In addition to the heavily requested 1.6T LPO lineup, Linktel showcased two other major high-speed architectural pillars:

12.8T Liquid-Cooled XPO:Featured a live thermal demonstration integrating advanced liquid cooling to guarantee stable operations in high-density AI nodes.As a founding member of the XPO MSA, Linktel is actively scaling XPO series with FRO, LRO, and LPO variants for comprehensive scale-up, scale-out, and scale-across frameworks.6.4T/7.2T NPO Modules:Displayed with covers removed to reveal internal architectural designs supporting both ELS and ILS configurations.Combines compact high density with low power and low latency, backed by an established 6.4T/7.2T NPO roadmap.DMD Technology & Executive Presentation:Linktel Engineer Director Dr. Grace Zhang hosted a heavily attended Executive Session titled “Dispersion Managed Transceiver for Next-Gen AI Fabrics,” detailing cost-effective 800G (20km) and 1.6T (10km) solutions for OCS SuperPOD architectures, as well as the feasibility of 400G per lambda (3km).With its DMD product line already in volume production, Linktel actively calls upon ecosystem partners to join forces in collaborative development. To drive ecosystem maturity, Linktel is open to sharing its U.S.-filed patents, paving the way for industry-wide adoption and advancements in next-gen AI fabrics.

About Linktel Technologies

Linktel Technologies is a global leader in optical transceiver development and manufacturing, supplying high-speed optical I/O connectivity—including pluggable transceivers, optical engines, and ODM/JDM services.

For more information, visit www.linktel.com or follow Linktel Technologies on LinkedIn.

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SOURCE Linktel Technologies

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Advanced Manufacturing in Focus: Smart Life and Robotics Take the Spotlight at 140th Canton Fair

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October 18, 2026

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GUANGZHOU, China, Oct. 18, 2026 /CNW/ — Phase 1 of the 140th Canton Fair, themed “Advanced Manufacturing,” opened on October 15 and will run through October 19. As one of the event’s most closely watched sections, the Consumer Electronics and Information Products zone once again serves as a showcase for the latest achievements in China’s manufacturing and technology industries.

Smart Life Solutions Address an Aging and Globalized Market

A highlight of this section is the focus on smart living, which brings together smart solutions designed to support healthier, safer, and more independent lifestyles.

For example, wearable devices and continuous glucose monitoring systems enable convenient tracking of key health indicators such as heart rate and blood glucose levels. Meanwhile, wearable exoskeletons and other AI-powered devices support mobility training and functional recovery. For home and elderly care, companion robots, electric nursing beds and home-use hyperbaric oxygen chambers, offer a combination of daily care, wellness support and lifestyle assistance. All these solutions highlight a growing shift toward technology-enabled living, where health management, personal care, and independent living are becoming more accessible and connected.

Service Robots Demonstrate Expanding Real-World Applications

The Service Robot Zone remains one of the fair’s most popular attractions in this edition.

Among the crowd favorites is a humanoid robot standing roughly 70–80 centimeters tall. With its expressive movements and playful appearance, the robot draws constant attention as it dances, approaches visitors and occasionally performs flips to the delight of onlookers. Behind the product is a company that has overcome key challenges in compact joint modules and modular humanoid robot development. Its independently developed high-power-density joints deliver remarkable agility and explosive movement, while modular architecture provides flexibility for a wide range of future applications.

More broadly, the Service Robot Zone features exhibits spanning a wide range of application areas, including embodied intelligence, specialized operations, urban services, and smart living. Full-size humanoid robots, dexterous hands with multimodal sensing capabilities and wheeled robots highlight the latest advances in artificial intelligence, perception technologies and motion control. For demanding industrial and emergency environments, exhibitors are presenting robotic inspection systems, live-line maintenance robots and underwater propulsion robots designed to improve safety and operational efficiency.

The commercial services sector is also well represented through reception robots, façade-cleaning robots and fully automated coffee kiosks, while everyday life applications include wearable exoskeletons, robotic lawn mowers and educational robots for home use. Together, these exhibits demonstrate how China’s robotics industry is accelerating its transition from technological innovation to large-scale commercialization.

As the 140th Canton Fair gets underway, the showcased innovations highlight China’s growing strength in advanced manufacturing, turning cutting-edge technologies into practical, market-ready solutions for global customers.

For more convenient attendance, please click here for pre-registration:
https://buyer.cantonfair.org.cn/register/buyer/email?source_type=16

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SOURCE Canton Fair

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