As China marks the 70th anniversary of its space program in 2026, China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) is expanding its international business from commercial launches to integrated space systems and services. Established in 1980, the company serves as the specialist international business arm of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), supporting national strategic priorities while opening overseas markets for Chinese rockets, satellites and space technologies.
Over seven decades, China has built its space sector from the ground up into a major technological industry. Throughout much of that journey, CGWIC has helped bring Chinese space capabilities to international customers, one rocket launch and one satellite project at a time.
From Commercial Launch Provider to Integrated Systems Supplier
The Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 1978 ushered in reform and opening-up, creating new opportunities for China’s space sector to enter international markets. In October 1980, CGWIC’s predecessor was established to handle space-related foreign trade, becoming a pioneer of China’s international space business.
In October 1985, China’s Ministry of Aerospace Industry announced that the Long March 2 and Long March 3 launch vehicles would be offered on the international market. The global launch industry subsequently suffered a series of setbacks: the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and failures involving Titan and Delta rockets created a shortage of commercial launch capacity, opening an opportunity for Chinese providers.
On April 7, 1990, a Long March 3 lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center and successfully launched AsiaSat-1, built by the U.S. company Hughes. It was China’s first international commercial satellite launch. The mission is commemorated as a major event of 1990 on the bronze timeline walkway at the China Millennium Monument.
CGWIC built on that initial success. In August 1992, the Long March 2E, a variant equipped with strap-on boosters and China’s first rocket developed specifically for commercial market requirements, successfully launched Australia’s AUSSAT B1 satellite.
The path into commercial markets was not straightforward. Following the Long March 3B launch failure in 1996, China’s space industry strengthened its quality assurance procedures, including two five-point frameworks for technical and management corrective action. Successful launches resumed in 1997 with satellites including Mabuhay and APSTAR-2R. Between 1997 and 1999, the Long March 2C/SD completed seven successful missions, placing 12 Iridium satellites into their intended orbits.
Beginning with the launch of CBERS-1 in 1999, China and Brazil jointly developed six China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellites. The CBERS program became an internationally recognized example of South-South cooperation in advanced technology.
Despite setbacks and difficulties, CGWIC continued to pursue international business. Following CASC’s direction, it adopted a strategy centered on European partnerships, offering combinations of Long March rockets with European-built satellites or Chinese-built satellites.
In April 2005, a Long March 3B successfully launched APSTAR-6, manufactured by France’s Alcatel, marking the first international commercial launch by a Chinese rocket since 1999. CGWIC then expanded beyond launch services into complete satellite exports, delivering international projects in orbit, including Bolivia’s Tupak Katari communications satellite and the Horus-1 and Horus-2 remote sensing satellites. These projects demonstrated the growing international competitiveness of China’s advanced space products.
By combining satellite and launch vehicle supply with ground systems and telemetry, tracking and command support, CGWIC evolved from a commercial launch provider into an integrator of space products and comprehensive service systems.
As of September 2026, CGWIC had completed 113 commercial launches, placing 79 international commercial satellites and 357 Chinese commercial satellites into orbit. Its international portfolio included 14 communications satellite in-orbit delivery missions and seven remote sensing satellite in-orbit delivery missions. It had also provided 53 rideshare launch services, carrying 30 international payloads and 127 Chinese commercial satellites. Its market reach extended across five continents.
From Satellites to Bridges Between Nations
Space cooperation carries significance for both national reputation and international diplomacy. As a major participant in China’s international space business, CGWIC places support for the country’s foreign policy priorities at the center of its mission, presenting its international projects as practical contributions to building a community with a shared future for humanity.
The company regards each launch and satellite project as an opportunity to strengthen political trust between countries. Following the successful launch of Bolivia’s communications satellite, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Bolivian President Evo Morales exchanged congratulations. Similar exchanges followed the launches of LaoSat-1, Belarus’s BELINTERSAT-1 and Algeria’s Alcomsat-1 communications satellites. Following the successful launch of Algeria’s AlSat-3 remote sensing satellites early in 2026, the Chinese and Algerian heads of state again exchanged congratulatory messages.
These milestones illustrate the diplomatic role of China’s international space partnerships and its emphasis on cooperation in the use of space.
CGWIC continues to expand its partnerships, with a particular focus on countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. Three successful launches for Pakistan’s PRSC-EO remote sensing constellation, supported by five years of contract execution, build on more than three decades of China-Pakistan space cooperation and reinforce the two countries’ all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.
The company also provides communications and remote sensing satellite services to countries in Africa, Latin America and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, while contributing to international disaster reduction and relief. Through these activities, space technology supports both intergovernmental cooperation and practical improvements in people’s lives.
From Asia and Latin America to Africa and Europe, China participates in international space cooperation, shares the benefits of technological development and contributes its capabilities to the peaceful use of outer space. CGWIC aims to turn each international project into a dependable partnership, using Chinese space technology to connect countries and communities.
Through reliable contract delivery, the company seeks to support China’s diplomatic priorities and demonstrate its responsibilities as a major spacefaring nation.
Strengthening CASC’s Third Growth Engine
International space business is both a platform for supporting national strategy and an important source of growth for CASC. As the corporation’s principal channel and platform for international business, CGWIC is strengthening its role as a pillar of what CASC calls its “third growth engine.”
CGWIC has reported a series of milestones at the start of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period. In January 2026, separate Long March 2C launches from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center placed Algeria’s AlSat-3A and AlSat-3B into their intended orbits. Both optical remote sensing satellites were delivered in orbit to the customer within the same month, alongside ground systems, training and supporting services.
Project teams coordinated every stage of those missions. Some personnel spent months on site overseeing the details, while others prepared review documentation late into the night or accompanied international customers between Beijing, Jiuquan and Xi’an to keep the work moving.
In February, a Smart Dragon-3 launched Pakistan’s PRSC-EO2 satellite from a sea-based platform, marking China’s first offshore launch service for Pakistan. In April, the successful launch of PRSC-EO3 completed three successful missions for the constellation and achieved its initial deployment milestone.
In July, a Long March 6A successfully launched the 13th batch of SpaceSail constellation satellites. It was the 655th launch of the Long March family, with CGWIC serving as the prime contractor for launch services. In August, the UAE’s SEO satellite and GalaxySpace’s Lingzhi-09 Thai CubeSat were successfully launched in separate missions.
Through these launches and timely project deliveries, CGWIC has sought to fulfill its commitment to rapid response, high reliability and quality service.
The company reported strong business momentum in 2026. As of August, its principal operating indicators had reached record levels, with sharp increases in both the number and value of newly signed contracts. The proportion of new contracts entering into force within the year also rose substantially.
Major international contracts generated direct economic returns while supporting coordinated activity across CASC’s launch vehicle, satellite manufacturing and ground systems organizations. By translating overseas orders into work across the wider industrial chain, CGWIC has reinforced the strategic value of international business as CASC’s third growth engine.
Those results reflect sustained work on the front line. At the company’s offices in Beijing’s Daguan International building, teams frequently work late to accommodate customers in different time zones. At 2 a.m., negotiators may still be finalizing contract details over video calls with overseas clients. In commercial satellite control rooms, project teams work successive shifts to support round-the-clock operations.
One team pursued a prospective customer for more than a decade before overcoming barriers and entering the target market. Another began with market research, developed its service offering from scratch and opened a new business field. The company views that persistence and commitment as essential foundations for its international growth.
Accelerating Growth Through People and Innovation
After 70 years of development, China’s space sector has entered a new phase focused on quality, providing a stronger technological foundation and broader opportunities for international business.
CGWIC places people at the center of that expansion, assessing employees by their achievements and selecting talent on the basis of demonstrated performance. Its approach emphasizes giving capable employees opportunities to grow and take responsibility.
“Success is built on effort and driven by passion,” Chairman Li Dong told young employees, encouraging lifelong learning, hands-on experience and a willingness to take on demanding assignments.
In recent years, overseas postings and customer-facing commercial roles have become principal training grounds for the company’s managers. Young professionals have progressed from business representatives to project leaders, developing their skills through international customer engagement and the coordination of projects across borders. Their experience in tackling difficult assignments has made them an increasingly important foundation for the company’s development.
The company also links workforce development to its organizational culture. Its Party committee has established a five-part capability framework intended to build an international business team that combines strategic ambition with practical execution and the ability to deliver results.
Since the beginning of 2026, CGWIC has pursued four organizational changes: stronger cohesion among its leadership, greater enthusiasm in day-to-day work, closer support from development and manufacturing organizations, and improved contract results.
Its stated values emphasize integrity, cooperation, quality, success and innovation. It also promotes the related ideas of building on opportunities, acting with sincerity and delivering results. The company encourages systems thinking, awareness of operational limits and risks, commercial judgment and the use of internet-enabled approaches.
A further five-part working standard calls for truthful communication, practical work, concrete measures, measurable results and tangible benefits for the public. Through an initiative to extend Party-building work into projects and front-line operations, the company seeks to reinforce its commitment to placing national interests first.
Business model innovation is progressing alongside those organizational changes. CGWIC has introduced a shared-rocket launch service model to make Chinese launch vehicles more accessible to international customers. It has also developed a mechanism combining joint office arrangements with personnel integration, bringing market knowledge and engineering resources into closer alignment.
At a conference on the international expansion of commercial space held early in 2026, the company proposed an organizational model combining a designated industrial-chain lead with joint participation by companies across that chain. The aim is to bring together competitive resources from China’s commercial space sector and accelerate the transition from product exports to integrated space and ground system solutions.
CGWIC is also refining country-specific marketing strategies, placing commercial teams closer to customers and extending their reach into neighboring markets. It is building overseas after-sales networks and services covering the full operational life cycle, while expanding activities such as commercial telemetry, tracking and command networks and BeiDou applications.
These efforts support a broader shift from individual product exports to integrated offerings spanning space, airborne and ground systems. The company describes its development approach as opening markets through integrated systems, generating returns through international business and building future capabilities through intelligent technologies.
China’s space program reaches its 70th anniversary as the 15th Five-Year Plan period begins. CGWIC has designated 2026 as a year for strengthening its foundations, expanding its efforts across the business and improving its ability to meet national policy priorities.
The company says it will follow Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and implement the decisions of CASC’s ninth work conference. Under an overall framework comprising one guiding priority, seven areas for improvement and seven new breakthroughs, it aims to become a strategically focused international space company and build a high-quality business at the RMB 10 billion scale, while balancing development and security.
CGWIC plans to support China’s diplomacy and the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative through international space business, while strengthening its role as a pillar of CASC’s third growth engine.
Working with development and manufacturing organizations, it will pursue openness, integration and innovation to build more complete solutions spanning space, airborne and ground systems. Its objective is to become an internationally competitive systems integration service provider.
The company also intends to develop new sources of growth in international commercial space business, share the benefits of that development with employees and provide broader opportunities for young professionals.
More than four decades of international business have taken CGWIC into markets across five continents. As it enters its next phase, the company aims to carry forward the dedication and resilience associated with China’s space program, strengthen the country’s space capabilities and contribute to the peaceful use of outer space.
As international space offerings expand from individual products to complete systems, customers also need a practical route from satellite capabilities to useful business results. STARPATH GLOBAL brings together satellite resources, data processing and AI geospatial analysis to support that transition, drawing on China’s expanding space supply chain to offer competitively priced imagery, payloads and satellite solutions. To explore an approach suited to your application, contact STARPATH GLOBAL to discuss the data, capabilities and implementation support your project requires.
