Private Chinese firms are increasingly entering the picture as well. Emposat, a leading provider of commercial ground station services, is expanding overseas to meet growing global demand for TT&C.

The company says it operates a network of stations in China and across South and Central Africa, South Asia, and the South Pacific. In 2021, it inked a deal with Azerbaijan to establish its first overseas fixed station, which included the construction of a 7.3-meter antenna.

The following year, the station provided its first uplink services to a small remote sensing satellite built by the Beijing-based firm Smart Satellite. While it operates as a private company, Smart Satellite is working with the state-owned defense contractor China Electronics Technology Group to develop a constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites.

Chinese space firms have a track record of engaging in activities that threaten U.S. security and interests. In 2023, the U.S. government sanctioned the Chinese small satellite producer Spacety for providing SAR imagery to the Russian paramilitary force Wagner Group, supporting its combat operations in Ukraine.

More recently, the U.S. State Department confirmed reports that Chang Guang Satellite Technology, a leading Chinese remote sensing firm with over 200 satellites in orbit, sold imagery to the Houthis, the Iran-backed Yemeni militia responsible for dozens of attacks on U.S. and allied commercial and naval vessels in the Red Sea since 2023.

Similar security concerns could emerge as China's dual-use space sector grows more capable and becomes increasingly available to countries and nonstate actors worldwide. Concerningly, the emergence of its private space industry enables Beijing to support intelligence or combat operations against U.S. and allied forces while maintaining a degree of deniability.

China's space diplomacy should also raise questions about the United States' future economic competitiveness in a critical emerging industry.

Global investment in the space economy reached a record $613 billion in 2024, nearly doubling from $330 billion just a decade earlier. By 2035, the sector is projected to reach an eye-popping $1.8 trillion in value.

For now, U.S.-based firms still have a major edge. The United Stated dominates in launch services, for example, thanks to the transformative advances in reusable rocket technologies pioneered by SpaceX, which has slashed the cost of launching payloads into orbit.