China’s space program has achieved significant milestones since its beginning in the mid-1950s and has undergone evolution over many years. The foundation of China’s space program lies in its strong satellite program. After successfully launching its first satellite in 1970, China has developed several satellites with different roles. China has also expanded in other domains like human spaceflight, space exploration, and space militarization. One of the significant milestones was that it was the third country to send humans to space. These developments were a source of help for the Chinese in enhancing their national power. The origins of the Chinese space program can be traced back to ancient Chinese civilization when inventor Wan Hu used a rocket-propelled chair to reach outer space. It was the Chinese first-ever attempt to get to outer space.
In the 20th century, after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) in 1949 under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the ambitions to reach outer space re-emerged. Chinese space program emerged out of its ballistic missile program. The tense relationship with the US and also deteriorating relations with the USSR in the second half of the 1950s made the Chinese leadership plan its nuclear program, as both the USSR and the US have already developed this capability. Developing ballistic missile capability as part of its delivery system is crucial for establishing an effective nuclear deterrence. The space program was also part of the Chinese ballistic missile system, which initiated Chinese space activities.
Qian Xuesen, the father of the country’s ballistic missile and space program, breathed new life into the Chinese space program. Qian, along with other Chinese engineers, was deported back to China during the McCarthy witch hunts. They were warmly welcomed by China. Qian, along with other Chinese engineers, helped the Chinese government excel in science and technology development by offering a proposal to set up the national defense aeronautics industry in 1956. On October 8, 1956, CPC established the 5th Research Academy of the Ministry of National Defense, which laid the foundation of the Chinese ballistic missile program along with the space program. Rocket Research Institute was also established under the supervision of the academy and Qian was made its first director.
On September 20, 1981, China launched three satellites on a single rocket for the first time. These satellites were named Shinjian-2, 2A, and 2B. Since the turn of the next century, China has intensified its space program and achieved significant milestones, such as China launching its first microsatellite (Tsinghua-1) on June 20, 2000, and also launching its first nanosatellite (Naxing-1) on April 18, 2004. At the end of 2010, China matched the US in the number of space launches and surpassed the US in the number of space launches at the end of 2011, which was a matter of prestige for China and also enhanced China’s standing on the international stage and also significantly contributed to Chinese national power.
China’s significant advancements in space technology were 3-D imaging and a synthetic aperture radar system, which gives the ability to see beyond smoke and fog. China is also developing its navigation system, which will make China self-reliant in navigation and also reduce Chinese dependency on foreign systems. The future goal of China is to make significant contributions to space science, such as monitoring the environment and resource exploration. China is enhancing its earth observation capabilities. China has also started its human space flight program, whose mission was to send humans to space by 1973 but this project was stopped due to political turmoil in China in 1972 and was started again in 1992 under Project 921. The project aimed to develop manned spaceflight capabilities in three stages. The first stage was about sending humans to space; the second was about building a space station; and the third one was to develop reusable launch vehicles.
Under President Xi Jinping’s program of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. China’s space program is a crucial element of this program. The President has stated the goal of transitioning the country from being a major space power to being a stronger space power. This goal has to be achieved by mid-century. Access to space offers political, military, and commercial benefits to China. According to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), outer space is a new warfighting domain. They believe that without having superiority in space, China will be at a disadvantage in all other domains. PLA created a strategic support force in 2015 that is responsible for PLA’s space program to further incorporate space for military operations.
China is also using its space program for its international political benefit and to reduce the influence of the US in this domain by projecting itself as a benign superpower that advocates for building a shared vision for humanity in space that puts stress on using space as a peaceful means. Under this vision, China is using international space cooperation to show that China is able and also willing to fulfill the economic and security demands of other countries through the use of its space-based capabilities. To increase its influence in this domain, China is offering services of advanced space technology to BRI countries. In relation to this, China has inked “98 interdepartmental and intergovernmental agreements with 30 nations and 3 international organizations.”
Thus, China has evolved its space program over many decades and has achieved significant milestones along the way but Chinese commercial launch space companies are far behind as compared to those of the US. It is important to ponder the future of space as China is increasing its space capabilities, which may put them in conflict with the US as both countries’ relations are already tense.
The Author, M. Hammad Madni is a student of International Relations at Air University, with a proven track record of publishing opinion articles on global affairs with the Institute of Strategic Studies (ISSI).His expertise lies in providing insightful perspectives on international relations, geopolitics, and global governance.
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