China moves to integrate commercial space into its national space development plan

HELSINKI — China’s space administration has published a policy blueprint aimed at accelerating development of commercial space and embedding it within its broader national space ambitions.

The policy notice, entitled “Action Plan of the China National Space Administration for Promoting the High-Quality and Safe Development of Commercial Space (2025–2027),” was published Nov. 25, the same day as the country launched its first emergency Shenzhou mission to the Tiangong space station.

The document sets out 22 key measures to boost innovation, improve the efficiency of resource use, expand industrial capabilities, and strengthen safety supervision across the commercial space domain.

“We will incorporate commercial spaceflight into the overall national space development plan,” the text reads, indicating that commercial space will formally be part of China’s overall strategies. It follows a year after CNSA chief engineer Li Guoping called for greater support for commercial space and the shared development of commercial space actors through cooperation with nationally-funded entities. 

The statement claims that, by 2027, China aims to forge a coordinated commercial space ecosystem with scaled production, stronger innovation, efficient resource use, and tighter governance, essentially delivering a fully realized, high-quality commercial space sector.

Notable key measures regarding enhancing innovation include opening civil space research programs and basic research projects to commercial space entities, promoting commercialization of national technological achievements and building space-technology innovation platforms.

Regarding resources and capabilities, measures include opening national research and testing facilities to commercial actors, coordinating ground infrastructure development, integrating civil and commercial space standards, and promoting satellite data utilization and security.

Measures on promoting industrial development and expansion include optimizing industrial structure, guidance for local governments, supporting new business models, expanding government procurement and supporting internationalization. 

Notably, the announcement explicitly states the areas of space resource development and utilization, space manufacturing, on-orbit servicing and maintenance, space environment monitoring and detection, space tourism, space biopharmaceuticals and space debris—including monitoring, early warning, mitigation and removal—as areas in which new business models could be developed. 

The overall thrust of the policy notice appears to be establishing commercial space as a pillar in China’s national space architecture, rather than commercial space existing as an auxiliary to the state sector. It also indicates that China eyes expanding space activities into new potential economic frontiers.

China’s central government has already noted commercial space as a key driver of high-tech and high-quality development. The country has previously used similar state-led industrial policy to accelerate sectors such as shipbuilding, solar power and electric vehicles as part of its broader strategy, and is now applying that model to space. 

It has also responded to the rapid expansion of U.S. commercial space capabilities by working to establish its own satellite megaconstellations and reusable launch systems. China is expected to further elaborate its space ambitions during political sessions in March next year, when it will announce its Five-Year Plan for 2026–2030. A new space white paper outlining key achievements and future objectives is expected to follow later that year.

The CNSA notice comes amid heightened scrutiny of the crewed lunar programs of the United States and China, with some describing this juxtaposition of ambitions as a race to the moon. The CNSA policy announcement indicates, however, that Beijing sees a series of other arenas within the realm of space which are of serious interest and have geopolitical implications.