Does China’s commercial space industry represent a threat?

China has had a space program since roughly the same time that NASA was created in 1958. Since the 1970s, China has launched increasingly complicated military, robotic and human missions into space, making it a major spacefaring nation. Until recently, however, China has not had a commercial space sector in which firms vie to sell space products and services to state and private customers domestically and internationally.

Using original documents and first-hand Chinese-language interviews with Chinese companies and China’s industry experts, we can address three questions:

1. What factors are driving the development of China’s emerging commercial space sector?
2. What are the key characteristics of this sector?
3. What are its strengths and weaknesses, and where do we expect Chinese commercial space companies to be in the next 5–10 years?