Today, experts say China is applying that same playbook to a far more strategic domain: space.<\/p>\n
Across Africa, Latin America<\/a> and other parts of the Global South, Chinese firms have quietly built or expanded satellite ground stations, tracking facilities and space infrastructure that position Beijing as a gateway to orbit for countries like Pakistan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Venezuela, Argentina and Namibia, which lack the resources to get there on their own. Analysts warn the effort carries implications not just for economic influence, but for future warfare and global dominance.<\/p>\n A new report <\/a>from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) finds that China is embedding itself deeply into the space programs of dozens of countries, offering end-to-end services that include satellite design, manufacturing, launches, training and ground infrastructure \u2014 a strategy that could give Beijing long-term leverage over a domain increasingly critical to modern military power.<\/p>\n CHINA\u2019S GLOBAL AGGRESSION CHECK: TAIWAN TENSIONS, MILITARY POSTURING, AND US RESPONSE IN 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Swakopmund tracking station, a Chinese space tracking station in Swakopmund, Namibia, is pictured above. (\u00a0CSIS\/Hidden Reach\/Vantor 2026)<\/p>\n High above Ethiopia\u2019s capital, Addis Ababa, a newly expanded satellite facility built by Chinese firms now tracks objects in orbit. Similar Chinese-built or Chinese-operated sites have appeared in Egypt and Namibia, where large satellite dishes, tracking antennas and testing complexes support space missions that can serve both civilian and military purposes.<\/p>\n Together, the facilities form part of a growing global network strengthening China\u2019s ability to track, communicate with and potentially influence activity in space \u2014 now widely viewed by defense planners as a new frontier of conflict.<\/p>\n “This is really about who\u2019s winning the space diplomacy race<\/a> in the Global South,” said Matthew Funaiole, a senior fellow at CSIS and one of the report\u2019s authors. “Space is becoming central to economic power, national security, and military capability, and China is positioning itself accordingly.”<\/p>\n Once dominated by science and commerce, space is now treated as a warfighting domain alongside land, sea, air and cyberspace. Satellites underpin modern military operations, enabling communications, intelligence collection, missile warning, navigation and targeting.<\/p>\n Experts say China cannot operate a truly global space power from within its own borders alone. Satellites require constant tracking and communication, which is only possible through a worldwide network of ground stations spread across multiple continents.\u00a0<\/p>\n By building facilities overseas, China is closing gaps in its own network and adding redundancy that would be critical in a crisis.<\/p>\n “Chinese-built ground stations can absolutely support civil and scientific missions \u2014 and they do,” Funaiole said. “But they also provide China with the ability to level up its own national security capabilities.”<\/p>\n Image of a Chinese-built satellite station in Windhoek, Namibia.\u00a0 (CSIS\/Hidden Reach\/Vantor 2026)<\/p>\n The report raises particular concern about the dual-use nature of the infrastructure China is exporting. Facilities marketed as scientific or commercial assets also can be used to monitor military satellites, communicate with defense systems, and collect sensitive data \u2014 capabilities closely tied to China\u2019s People\u2019s Liberation Army.<\/p>\n Compounding those concerns is a lack of transparency over who ultimately controls the data flowing through these systems.<\/p>\n “When you\u2019re dealing with space technology in China, there\u2019s always a question of who has access and what the data is being used for,” Funaiole said. “That lack of transparency is a real issue.”<\/p>\n Instead of ports and highways, experts say Beijing is now exporting satellites, launch services and ground stations \u2014 offering countries a turnkey path to space while embedding Chinese technology, standards and companies deep inside critical national systems. It is, in effect, Belt and Road applied to orbit.<\/p>\n “There\u2019s a lot of interest across Africa and Latin America in gaining access to space,” Funaiole said. “Many countries just don\u2019t have the capabilities to do it on their own, and China has stepped into that gap in a way the United States largely hasn\u2019t.”<\/p>\n The report introduces a new China Space Cooperation Index, ranking 64 countries based on the depth of their engagement with Beijing. More than three-quarters of those countries are in the Global South, with Africa accounting for the largest share.<\/p>\n SKIES AT STAKE: INSIDE THE U.S.\u2013CHINA RACE FOR AIR DOMINANCE<\/a><\/p>\n While China\u2019s commercial space sector remains less advanced than that of the United States, it has leveraged state-backed financing, diplomatic outreach and bundled technology offerings to gain footholds that can be difficult to unwind.<\/p>\n “Once countries are in China\u2019s ecosystem, it becomes very costly for them to switch away,” Funaiole said. “We\u2019ve seen that play out in other critical technologies.”<\/p>\n The United States, by contrast, built its global space network decades ago primarily for warfighting and allied defense, relying on facilities in close partner nations rather than developing countries. Washington never packaged space access as a diplomatic tool, leaving a gap China is now exploiting.<\/p>\n While Africa has emerged as a hub for China\u2019s newest physical infrastructure, the report finds some of Beijing\u2019s deepest space partnerships are in Latin America, including Venezuela and Argentina \u2014 developments with direct implications for U.S. security interests closer to home.<\/p>\n That expansion has not gone unnoticed in Washington.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Space](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/china-space-imagery-1.jpg\")
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