SHANGHAI — China is working on a regulation on satellite navigation and will release it to solicit public opinion soon.

The regulation has been put on the State Council legislation agenda as a basic rule to regulate activities related to satellite navigation in the country, Ran Chengqi, director of China Satellite Navigation Office, said at the 8th China Satellite Navigation Conference which opened on May 23.

According to the draft, China’s self-developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is defined as state information infrastructure.

The rule will ensure the smooth construction and operation of the BDS and promote its wide application, said Yang Changfeng, the system’s chief designer, who also heads the draft panel.

China has formulated a three-step strategy for developing the BDS, aiming to complete the deployment of the 35-satellite constellation around 2020 to provide services to global users.

The Chinese government released its first white paper on satellite navigation in June 2016, elaborating on an action plan for the BDS development.