BEIJING — China actively promoted international space cooperation in 2020, offering satellite exports and launches, cooperative research and application services to the world, according to a recent report on China's aerospace industry.
SATELLITE LAUNCHES
By the end of last year, 51 Chinese rockets had launched 59 foreign commercial satellites into space, said the 2020 Blue Book of China Aerospace Science and Technology.
In January and November, China's Long March rockets took 12 commercial remote sensing satellites developed by Argentina's Satellogic into orbit. The company has agreed with the China Great Wall Industry Cooperation on plans to launch 90 satellites on Long March rockets.
In December, Ethiopia launched its second Chinese-backed satellite from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in South China's Hainan province. The preliminary design of the satellite was done in Ethiopia, while a joint Ethiopian-Chinese engineering team did the technical and detailed design.
SATELLITE TV FOR AFRICA
At the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2015, the Chinese government pledged to provide satellite television for 10,000 African villages.
The report said 19 African countries completed project acceptance in 2020, covering 8,162 villages. The project also rolled out educational videos for primary and middle school students in countries like Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
BEIDOU SERVICES
In July, China commissioned the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), marking the formal launch of the newly completed BDS-3 system for global users.
Along with positioning, navigation, and timing services, BDS-3 can also provide global search and rescue, short message communication, ground-based and satellite-based augmentation, as well as precise point positioning services.
BeiDou-related products had been exported to more than 120 countries and regions.
In October, China and Russia agreed to increase compatibility and interoperability of their global satellite navigation systems — China's BeiDou and Russia's GLONASS — to better serve the two countries' development.
METEOROLOGICAL, EMERGENCY SERVICES
China also developed the Fengyun series of remote-sensing meteorological satellites and provided Fengyun satellite data and products to 115 countries and regions, opened green channels to 39 countries, and trained more than 1,200 people from more than 100 countries for Fengyun satellite application.
In January, China delivered the Fengyun-2H meteorological satellite data-receiving, processing and application system to Mozambique, the first African country to use the Chinese system for 24/7 non-stop meteorological satellite monitoring.
China provided six of the 61 satellites contributed from around the world to the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, an international effort to use space technology in rescue and emergency responses after major disasters.
The report said that as of 2020, Chinese satellites had helped disaster relief operations in more than 30 countries and regions.
In 2020, China provided a large amount of satellite remote-sensing data for major disasters such as forest fires in Australia, Super Cyclone Amphan in the Bay of Bengal, and an oil spill near the lagoons and coastal areas of Mauritius.
