【Wen/Observer Net, Liu Bai】U.S. media are now paying increasingly urgent attention to every step that China's space program takes.

"How is China challenging the United States to become the next space power," CNBC, a U.S. consumer news and business channel, published an article on March 7, stating that China has made a series of major advances in the space field in recent years, including record-breaking space launch counts, building a space station, sampling from the far side of the moon, and Mars exploration, which is rapidly catching up with the United States. A U.S. commercial space industry organization warned that if the United States does not take timely measures, China may surpass it in some aspects within the next five years.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that in 2025, China completed 92 space launches throughout the year, of which 50 were commercial space launches, setting a new record for annual orbital launch counts. The article stated that in addition, over the past five years, China has achieved the first human sampling return from the far side of the moon, built its own low-Earth orbit space station, and successfully landed a Mars rover on the surface of Mars.

"We have heard the Chinese repeatedly mention 'China's space dream,' " said Dave Kavoss, chairman of the trade organization "Commercial Space Association" representing the commercial space industry, "They regard space and artificial intelligence as two core industries that can help China rise as a global leader."

The Commercial Space Association recently jointly released a report with Arizona State University's "New Space" initiative, warning that the United States may soon hand over its space leadership to China.

On January 19, China successfully launched the satellite internet low-orbit 19th group of satellites using the Long March 12 carrier rocket at the Hainan commercial space launch site, and the satellites smoothly entered the designated orbit. IC Photo

"Today, the United States remains the undisputed global leader in the space field," said Kavoss when interviewed by CNBC, "We still have the world's most powerful commercial space industry, and the strongest launch capability on Earth."

"But we see that China is catching up at an extremely fast pace. If we do nothing, China will surpass us in this field within the next five years," he added.

Data from the aerospace research firm Orbital Gateway Consulting shows that China's investment in the commercial space sector (including private and government sources) has increased from $340 million in 2015 to about $3.81 billion in 2025.

Jonathan Rohl, a researcher at Arizona State University's "New Space" initiative and co-author of the China space report, estimates that over the past decade, China's total investment in civil, military, and commercial space fields exceeded $104 billion.

"You might immediately ask, how much did the United States invest during the same period? We estimate that the United States invested more than five times that of China," Rohl said, "But the key point is that China's space spending continues to grow. Therefore, even if they cannot become the absolute leader in space science, they are steadily moving towards becoming a leader."

Notably, China's commercial space industry is entering a critical stage of scaled development.

Data from the CIDE Institute's "Outlook on the Development of China's Commercial Space Industry in 2026" show that in 2025, China's commercial space market size reached 2.83 trillion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 21.7%, and a five-year compound growth rate of 23.1%. By the end of 2025, China officially submitted applications for over 203,000 satellites to the International Telecommunication Union, covering 14 medium and low-orbit satellite constellations, laying the foundation for subsequent large-scale constellation networking.

CNBC described that in China, the space sector is supported by local governments, universities, state-owned enterprises, and private enterprises, forming an active network of space industry hubs across the country.

These hubs include rocket and satellite manufacturing facilities, launch sites, and related universities.

The Long March 10A verification rocket completes final deceleration next to the recovery ship

"The real explosive growth, that 'hockey stick' growth (describing sudden growth), started in 2014," Rohl mentioned, saying that in that year, China issued the "Guidance on Innovating Key Field Investment Mechanisms and Encouraging Social Investment," clearly stating that it encourages private capital to participate in the construction of national civil space infrastructure.

Now, China is accelerating the development of rockets, and currently has more than a dozen private rocket manufacturers, with some companies developing reusable rockets, matching the similar products of SpaceX, Elon Musk's company.

China has also made significant progress in satellite infrastructure construction. In 2020, China launched the last satellite needed to complete its global satellite navigation system, "Beidou," which directly competes with the U.S. GPS constellation. Additionally, China is planning to launch thousands of internet satellites, which will directly compete with SpaceX's Starlink satellite network in the future.

CNBC pointed out that space has also become an important part of China's "Belt and Road" initiative.

"For a long time, China has built and launched satellites for other countries, and now it has begun to build ground stations, even establishing entire facilities in countries such as Egypt and Pakistan," Rohl said, "At the same time, China is incorporating related countries into a system centered on China through the standards, technology, and services provided by Beidou... This is the embodiment of soft power."

Some experts also said that the United States still has various ways to maintain its space leadership, such as investing in the construction of spaceports, streamlining the process for commercial launch permits, and allocating sufficient spectrum resources for satellite operations.

"This space race is not about flags and footprints," said Kavoss, "The core of this competition is which country can build the strongest commercial space industry foundation."

China has repeatedly emphasized that the Chinese government has always adhered to exploring and utilizing outer space for peaceful purposes, and is willing to conduct space exchanges and cooperation with all countries on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, peaceful use, and inclusive development, actively promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity in the space domain.

At present, who can be the first to achieve manned moon landing in the 21st century has become a hot topic among some U.S. media. However, while China is steadily advancing its plans according to its own rhythm, the United States is facing numerous problems.

According to the original schedule, the United States planned to implement the "Artemis 2" crewed lunar orbit mission this year, and the "Artemis 3" crewed moon landing mission in 2027. However, the latest arrangement states that the "Artemis 3" mission will be changed to conduct system and operational capability tests in near-Earth orbit, and the original moon landing mission will be adjusted to "Artemis 4" and "Artemis 5", scheduled for implementation in 2028.

"I think 2028 is not realistic at all," said astronomer and space historian, former Harvard University astronomer McDowell, when talking about the U.S. timetable, saying that NASA's adjustment "is out of touch with reality," "In my opinion, the earliest the United States can do is 2030."

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7614721300573028870/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.