Since 2000, China has engaged 64 countries on at least one of the five indicators. Three-quarters of those countries are part of the Global South, reflecting Beijing’s deliberate strategy to target emerging markets across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Topping the index are Pakistan, Egypt, and Venezuela—regional heavyweights where China has made inroads as a key security and development partner.

Africa has emerged as a particular focal point for China. Beijing has engaged with African nations across the full spectrum of space development, including satellite design and on-the-ground technical training.

This deepening involvement reflects a concerted effort by China to draw African countries into its orbit, providing Beijing with significant advantages.

• Geographically, positioning physical infrastructure such as antennas and ground stations across the continent helps China to close critical coverage gaps in its global space tracking and data relay networks, allowing it to receive downlinked data faster.
• Politically, investing in Africa’s high-tech industrial development helps Beijing to shape its image as a supportive and reliable partner for governments across the continent.
• Economically, with limited competition from U.S. or European firms, Beijing has found an open pathway to expand into new and growing markets, laying the groundwork for its emerging commercial space sector to compete globally.

Several African countries stand out for the depth of their collaboration with China. Technical agreements and memorandums of understanding are important signals of cooperation, but building ground infrastructure reflects an even greater level of commitment.

Commercial satellite imagery of China’s expanding presence in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Namibia shows how Beijing is using space partnerships to reinforce its geopolitical foothold in the continent.

While Beijing’s engagements with the Global South support legitimate scientific and commercial ventures, its expanding presence there warrants close attention from Washington.

Many space technologies are inherently suited for dual-use roles. Commercial or civil satellites that enable internet connectivity and environmental monitoring can also support military communications, intelligence gathering, and targeting. Ground stations that downlink data can likewise be used to track foreign satellites and feed into broader space surveillance networks.  

Chinese authorities have spoken openly about the importance of reaping dual-use advantages of commercial space activities. In 2018, a Chinese Communist Party official called for China to “gradually establish a space information service system that connects military, civilian, and commercial sectors.”  

This vision aligns with China’s military-civil fusion (军民融合, MCF) strategy, President Xi Jinping’s signature effort to fuse together the nation’s economic development and national security strategies so that advances in one domain can be leveraged in the other.

Private Chinese firms are increasingly entering the picture as well. Emposat, a leading provider of commercial ground station services, is expanding overseas to meet growing global demand for TT&C.  

The company says it operates a network of stations in China and across South and Central Africa, South Asia, and the South Pacific. In 2021, it inked a deal with Azerbaijan to establish its first overseas fixed station, which included the construction of a 7.3-meter antenna.  

The following year, the station provided its first uplink services to a small remote sensing satellite built by the Beijing-based firm Smart Satellite. While it operates as a private company, Smart Satellite is working with the state-owned defense contractor China Electronics Technology Group to develop a constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites.  

Chinese space firms have a track record of engaging in activities that threaten U.S. security and interests. In 2023, the U.S. government sanctioned the Chinese small satellite producer Spacety for providing SAR imagery to the Russian paramilitary force Wagner Group, supporting its combat operations in Ukraine.  

More recently, the U.S. State Department confirmed reports that Chang Guang Satellite Technology, a leading Chinese remote sensing firm with over 200 satellites in orbit, sold imagery to the Houthis, the Iran-backed Yemeni militia responsible for dozens of attacks on U.S. and allied commercial and naval vessels in the Red Sea since 2023. 

Similar security concerns could emerge as China’s dual-use space sector grows more capable and becomes increasingly available to countries and nonstate actors worldwide. Concerningly, the emergence of its private space industry enables Beijing to support intelligence or combat operations against U.S. and allied forces while maintaining a degree of deniability.

China’s space diplomacy should also raise questions about the United States’ future economic competitiveness in a critical emerging industry.

Global investment in the space economy reached a record $613 billion in 2024, nearly doubling from $330 billion just a decade earlier. By 2035, the sector is projected to reach an eye-popping $1.8 trillion in value. 

For now, U.S.-based firms still have a major edge. The United Stated dominates in launch services, for example, thanks to the transformative advances in reusable rocket technologies pioneered by SpaceX, which has slashed the cost of launching payloads into orbit.