BEIJING – Amid rising tensions between China and the US, the former hasdecided to build its own celestial navigation system to lessen itsdependence upon the US-run Global Positioning System (GPS).
As you must know, the world is using location data beamed from the GPSsatellites in car navigation systems, smartphones, and even guidedmissiles. However, the control of these satellites originates back to theUS Air Force.
Amid the US-China rivalry, the dependence on a US-controlled navigationsystem has made the Chinese administration uncomfortable and they calledfor an alternative.
Notably, the Asian economic giant has its Beidou Navigation System alreadyworking in the country and a few of its neighbors. However, the system isoperational in China only.
[image: China Beidou Navigation System]——————————
The country is working to make it accessible worldwide by 2020 as afulfillment of President Xi Jinping’s strategy to make China a globalleader in the next-generation technologies.
For the past few years, more than 6.17 million domestic vehicles and 35,000vehicles of postal services or courier companies in China have installedand become compatible with the BeiDou navigation system.
Read Top Stories
Around 80,000 of the country’s buses, 370 shops, anddomestically-manufactured commercial airplanes have also installed thissystem.
China is promoting its international use as well, especially for countriesincluded in Belt and Road initiative. In order to make Beidouinternational, the country is launching new satellites.
It has launched at least 18 satellites this year, three this month for thatmatter. On Nov. 19, China’s introduction of two new satellites exceeded thetotal number of machines in operation to over 40.
It aims to add 11 more by 2020, and finally go global.
