China throws a technological challenge to the world
Last week, China’s State Aerospace Corporation launched a new global project that the Chinese have beautifully dubbed “Thousand Sails”. The Long March-6 carrier rocket launched the first 18 satellites in a mega-constellation that will provide high-speed Internet access from anywhere on the planet. By the end of the year, 100 satellites will have been launched, and by 2030, some 15,000 satellites will be in low Earth orbit. That is more than America’s Starlink currently has.
According to the Chinese newspaper Global Times, another 500 satellites will be added to the constellation next year to provide “regional communication coverage”. This likely refers to the territory of China, which has many hard-to-reach mountainous areas. As part of a major project to provide high-speed Internet throughout the country, China is looking to harness the potential of space communications. Eventually, this connection will gradually cover all regions of the world. The entire constellation is expected to be completed by the end of the decade. According to the project’s authors, this is nothing less than eliminating the “digital divide” and providing people with affordable and fast Internet.
Chinese media do not hide the fact that the launch of “Thousand Sails” is a response to the success of American Starlink. SpaceX’s constellation already includes more than 6,000 satellites, with plans to increase this number to 12,000. Elon Musk’s project is operational in most European countries, both Americas, many Pacific nations, and some regions in Asia and Africa.
China has criticized the use of Starlink for military purposes, accusing the US of “monopolizing Earth’s orbit”. China’s People’s Liberation Army newspaper has previously written about the “barbaric expansion and militarization” of Starlink.
Now China is getting serious about building an alternative to the American satellite constellation. And as experience shows, Chinese plans tend to be implemented right on schedule. Russia, by the way, may also benefit from this project in the future by gaining access to its capabilities. But while China is just beginning to catch up with the Americans, it has no equal in the field of creating the transportation of the future.
Recently, Chinese media reported the successful completion of extensive testing of a vacuum tube magnetic levitation train. This train doesn’t touch the surface of the tracks, but hovers by means of powerful magnets in both the train and the rails. The absence of air eliminates drag.
Elon Musk tried to implement a similar project. His Hyperloop was supposed to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco, but as Bloomberg reported, the startup shut down at the end of 2023. The Chinese, however, are having much more success. The creators of China’s maglev train promise speeds of 4,000 kilometers per hour, making it unbeatable for medium-distance travel. At the very least, airplanes won’t be able to compete, since modern airliners don’t go faster than 900 km/h. In addition, the train will move in a vacuum with complete silence and smoothness.
Experts, especially Russian ones, are skeptical about the commercial prospects of maglev in general. But similar skepticism was once directed at high-speed trains, which travel at 300 kilometers per hour. In China, such railways have been in use for decades and have changed the lifestyle of the Chinese people. Their length exceeds 45,000 kilometers, which is equivalent to five distances from Moscow to Vladivostok. The ability to travel across the country in just a few hours has opened up new opportunities.
Meanwhile, autonomous taxi and public transportation technologies are being tested in various Chinese cities, with some already in commercial use. In Shenzhen, Guangdong province, autonomous taxis have been tested since 2021. Apollo Go, part of the tech giant Baidu, operates there. Another startup, AutoX, already offers driverless taxi services. Chinese experts predict that within a few years, the entire Greater Bay Area (a region combining 11 megacities with nearly 90 million people) will become a testing ground for the introduction of robotaxis.
Recently, a fleet of nearly 500 driverless taxis began operating in Wuhan, a major industrial center. Apollo Go Robotaxi provides services in Chongqing. Autonomous taxis recently appeared on the streets of Shanghai’s Pudong financial district, with licenses granted to four companies: Baidu, AutoX, Pony and SAIC AI Lab. In Beijing, autonomous vehicle testing is allowed, and startups such as Baidu, Pony, WeRide, AutoX, and others are working there. In trial mode, autonomous taxis are transporting passengers between Beijing Daxing International Airport and the high-tech district of Yizhuang.
Driverless buses operate in Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Driverless trains are operating on some subway lines in Shenzhen. Autonomous public transportation is being tested in many regions of China. In addition, China is offering a worthy space-based response to Musk with its testing of a super-heavy rocket for missions to other planets and the creation of inhabited stations there.
Such innovations fit into the strategy of creating a new economy based on “new productive forces” and future infrastructure, and are widely supported by the authorities. China’s undeniable advantage lies in its vast market and political structure, where the resources of the state and the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) allow for the realization of the most ambitious and seemingly fantastic projects.
When you add in the already existing modern communications based on 5G technologies, the numerous services associated with them, new energy sources based on renewable resources, and much more, it becomes clear that China is moving toward an entirely new technological order. This will not only create an entirely new economy, but also transform life itself. Moreover, by skipping certain stages of development, China is now ahead of many of the world’s most advanced countries in many areas. At the same time, China is not isolating itself from the world, but sharing the fruits of its progress and undoubtedly influencing global events. And all this is happening in a country that is building “socialism with Chinese characteristics”. This is perhaps what most worries the Western world and forces it to view China’s rapid growth in innovation with caution.