The Beidou Satellite Navigation System completed all satellite in-orbit iterative upgrades in July, establishing a nationwide real-time centimetre-level position service capability alongside global coverage and rapid convergence, according to China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd. Chairman Gou Ping.
The fifth Beidou Scale Application International Summit was held recently in Zhuzhou, Hunan province, under the theme “The World with Beidou—Empowering the Global.” Since the first event held in 2021, the market radiation force and industrial support of the system have steadily strengthened. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Beidou industrial scale grew by more than 53 percent, reaching key sectors such as traffic, energy, urban construction, and emergency disaster reduction by the end of 2025.
Performance Enhancements and Global Scale Expansion
According to China Space-Time Information Group Co., Ltd. Chairman Zhang Nu, global smartphone terminals supporting Beidou short message functions now exceed 70 models, with active users surpassing 450 million. The system provides guaranteed stable online access for terminal connections supporting 1 billion-plus terminals, mass users, and industry users. Furthermore, Alibaba partner and Gaode Chairman Liu Zhenfei stated that on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year this year, Gaode called on Beidou for daily location queries 1 trillion times, supporting a total daily navigation mileage of 9 billion kilometres.
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Did You Know? The Beidou industrial cluster in Zhuzhou—the host city of the fifth summit—aggregated 188 enterprises by 2025, reaching an industrial scale of 22.96 billion yuan with an average annual growth rate exceeding 30 percent over the preceding three years.
Industry collaboration has also driven down hardware expenses. Led by units including China Space-Time Information Group, a new short-message system framework reduced chip costs by 70 percent and drove the shipment of 50 million chips built on the new standard.
Expanding Smart Agricultural and Industrial Applications
In Waigang Town, Jiading District, Shanghai, more than 10,000 mu of high-standard farmland utilizes intelligent agricultural machinery powered by Beidou technology to manage rice tillage, planting, management, and harvesting. Shanghai Sinan Navigation Technology Co., Ltd. planning director Liu Bolin noted at the summit that agricultural machinery automatic navigation driving systems integrated with new-generation Beidou terminals are deployed across farms in western and northern regions of the country.
Looking toward the 15th Five-Year Plan, China will coordinate space-based and ground-based navigation enhancement resources. The country plans to advance multi-source time-space information integration—including Beidou combined with low-orbit navigation enhancement, 5G/6G, inertial navigation, LiDAR, and vision—to build a multi-level, three-dimensional fusion navigation system spanning from outdoors to indoors and from the deep sea to deep space.
International Outreach and Industry Export
As one of the four global satellite navigation systems recognized by the United Nations, Beidou products are now exported to more than 140 countries and regions. Cambodian Minister of Posts and Telecommunications and Digital Government Committee Chairman Chea Vandeth stated that Beidou enhances the diversity, availability, and resilience of global positioning, navigation, and timing services.
In the desert of Saudi Arabia, China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) Petroleum Engineering Geophysical Co., Ltd. applies three-dimensional seismic exploration technology to locate oil and gas. Sinopec Beidou Operation Service Center production expert Wang Zhongwen reported that combining Beidou with time-space information terminals reduced measurement survey rework rates by 85 percent. According to the “Beidou Industry Development Research Report (2026)” compiled by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, Beidou’s international expansion is evolving from simple product shipments into a collaborative model encompassing products, solutions, services, and ecosystems.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the current scale of Beidou’s short message user base?
The active user scale for Beidou short message services has surpassed 450 million, supported by over 70 global smartphone terminal models.
How is Beidou utilized in agriculture?
Smart agricultural machinery equipped with Beidou positioning terminals and auto-navigation driving systems handles full-process farming operations such as tillage, planting, management, and harvesting on large-scale farmland.
Which global regions utilize Beidou technology for industrial projects?
Beidou products and related services have been exported to more than 140 countries and regions, with specific high-precision energy exploration applications deployed in locations like Saudi Arabia.
How will multi-source fusion technologies shape the next phase of China’s navigation system development?
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