On April 20, 2023, Shanghai unveiled an ambitious plan to establish itself as a leader in China's commercial space sector, coinciding with the launch of the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft.

This initiative is part of China's broader strategy to compete with American space giants like SpaceX and Blue Origin.

The city aims to boost the annual value of its commercial space industry to 100 billion yuan, approximately US$13.7 billion, by 2027.

To achieve this goal, Shanghai will leverage its existing aviation industry, particularly the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, to enhance its commercial space endeavors.

Shanghai plans to develop production capabilities for 100 rockets, 1,000 satellites, and a million application terminals each year.

Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology is already in the process of developing a satellite constellation designed to rival SpaceX’s Starlink.

To support these efforts, the city will provide subsidies of up to 300 million yuan to companies developing key commercial space products, along with covering 10% of upgrade costs for manufacturing projects, capped at 100 million yuan.

The potential for growth in this sector is significant, as evidenced by the fact that commercial space services contributed US$131.8 billion to the US GDP in 2022.