BEIJING, May 18 -- The total output value of China's satellite navigation and positioning service industry reached 536.2 billion yuan (about 74.2 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, up 7.09 percent year on year, according to a white paper published Saturday.

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Location Based Services (LBS) Association of China issued this year's white paper on the development of China's satellite navigation and positioning service industry.

According to the white paper, the growth rate of the industry in 2023 was generally better than that in 2022. The digital transformation and intelligent upgrades in various industries began to release the demand for satellite navigation equipment and spatio-temporal data, injecting vitality into the development of the BeiDou spatio-temporal information application and service market.

By the end of 2023, there were nearly 20,000 enterprises and institutions in China related to satellite navigation and positioning services, with nearly one million people working for the industry, said association president Yu Xiancheng, adding that 90 companies from the industry were listed in the country.

According to Yu, the cumulative number of satellite navigation patent applications in China had exceeded 119,000 by the end of 2023, an increase of 4.84 percent year-on-year.