China in the Space Domain – a Defence and Security Perspective
Publish date: 2025-02-14
Report number: FOI-R--5673--SE
Pages: 220
Written in: Swedish
Keywords:
- actor
- actor assessment
- APSCO
- Artemis
- Brazil
- Beidou
- BRI
- BRICS
- China
- communications
- COPUOS
- corruption
- defense
- direct investments
- DPRK
- Early Warning
- Earth Observation
- Europe
- gender equality
- gender perspective
- governance
- ground station
- human capital
- identity
- ILRS
- India
- Iran
- launcher
- launch site
- launch vehicle
- military
- military doctrine
- navigation
- PLA
- positioning
- reconnaissance and surveillance
- Russia
- sanctions
- satellite
- security
- security policy
- space
- space control
- space denying capability
- space domain
- space law
- space policy
- space power
- spacepower space program
- space segment
- space sector
- space situational awareness
- SSA
- space strategy
- space technology
- space traffic management
- STM
- time indication
- Ukraine
- UNODA
- UNOOSA
- United States
- Yaogan
Abstract
This FOI report has been produced within the Swedish Armed Forces Research and Technology Development programme and is based entirely on open sources. The report examines China's status as a space actor, how China's military space activities and China's actions in the space domain are developing in a short and medium- to long-term perspective. The conclusions of the report note that in 2024, China has reached a very high level of maturity in its development as a space actor. China has all the elements in place to project space power - from applied capabilities; strategy, doctrine and organization; to space industry and infrastructure. The only area where there are indications that China has not yet reached its full capacity is in the development of space based early warning. In a medium-term perspective, it is FOI's assessment that China will be lacking some levels of capacity regarding its space industry, space situational awareness, early warning system and military command and control. It appears, however, that in the long-term China may perfect its capacity, if no major changes occur that alters the current conditions substantially.