A model of BDS positioning services on display. /CFP
The output value of China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) reached a new high of 469 billion yuan ($69 billion) in 2021, up 16.29 percent year on year, according to a white paper released on Wednesday, noting that China has basically formed its BeiDou industrial system.
The white paper, issued by the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Location Based Service (LBS) Association of China, together known as GLAC, attributed the rapid growth to the global service of BDS-3 system started on July 31, 2020, which further stimulated demand for and attracted more investments in BDS technological applications.
Yu Xiancheng, president of GLAC, told China Media Group (CMG) that "China's satellite navigation and positioning service industry is moving towards a new stage of comprehensive space-time system construction in an all-round way. In this context, the BeiDou system is playing a significantly enhanced role in stimulating and leading economic and social development."
In addition, the white paper said that China remained the top source of international satellite navigation patent applications last year, totaling 98,000.
A BeiDou communication terminal is seen at Hongjianshan Weather Station in Longyan City in southeast China's Fujian Province, November 20, 2016. /CFP
BeiDou services and applications
Driven by the digital economy, BeiDou has been integrated into the infrastructure construction of electric power, agriculture and communication at a faster pace over the past year, according to the white paper.
By the end of 2021, over 380,000 sets of BeiDou positioning, timing and short message communication terminals had been installed, and more than 7.9 million vehicles had been equipped with the BDS.
Nearly 8,000 sets of BeiDou terminals of various types had been applied in the railway sector and over 100,000 agricultural machines had been equipped with the BeiDou self-driving system to monitor the harvest of staple crops such as rice, wheat and corn and the operation of tractors around the clock.
Futuristic global services
The BDS is China's largest space-based system and one of the four global navigation networks alongside the U.S. GPS, Russia's GLONASS and the European Union's Galileo.
With Beidou-1 serving China's domestic demands and Beidou-2 covering the Asia-Pacific region with services including regional short message communication, precise point positioning, and satellite-based as well as ground-based augmentation, Beidou-3 will provide more services to global customers.
In the coming years, China will further develop public service platforms for BDS application research and development, testing, certification and licensing to optimize the BDS global service system.
The country will advance the BDS's short message and other features to establish a global public emergency service platform for emergency search and rescue as well as distress alarm, providing stable services for all users at home and abroad.
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