Research Viewpoint: Rapid Growth of the Chinese Commercial Space Sector

ABSTRACT There is a natural process that major technological activities are in a first stage supported by governments and later evolve into commercial and private activities. Space activities are a present example of this and this process is now also taking place in China. One of the prerequisites to commercial activities is flexibility in regulations, particularly export controls and technology transfer. The Chinese government is accelerating the adaption of regulations to facilitate the growth of the Chinese commercial space sector. An overview of this process, including the status and listing of the present regulations, is given in this paper. The success of this process is demonstrated by recent commercial space activities in China illustrating that there is a trend towards promoting such activities supported by the government. This paper conducts research and discussion on the Chinese space sector and its international cooperation in the field of legal implications, governance, and cooperation. It provides an understanding of evolving Chinese space regulations and the growth of present Chinese commercial space activities.