China’s response to Starlink and OneWeb first became apparent in 2020 in filings for just under 13,000 satellites with the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva. Beijng followed up by designating “satellite internet” a national “new infrastructure” project and establishing the high-level, state-owned China Satellite Network Group in 2021 to oversee the constellation project known as “Guowang.”

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Andrew Jones writes about China's space industry, including civilian programs, space science and exploration, policy, and commercial developments for SpaceNews, and writes the China Report newsletter. He has additional bylines in Scientific American,...