China moves to integrate commercial space into its national space development plan – SpaceNews

Report on China’s Commercial Space Development Plan (2025–2027) and its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has issued a policy blueprint, the “Action Plan for Promoting the High-Quality and Safe Development of Commercial Space (2025–2027),” to formally integrate the commercial space sector into the nation’s overarching space development strategy. The plan outlines 22 key measures designed to build a robust, innovative, and sustainable commercial space ecosystem by 2027. This strategic initiative demonstrates a significant alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by focusing on innovation, sustainable industrialization, economic growth, and environmental stewardship in the space domain.

Fostering Innovation and Resilient Infrastructure (SDG 9)

The action plan places a core emphasis on SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure by creating a framework to build a resilient and technologically advanced space sector. The policy aims to foster innovation by breaking down barriers between state-run and commercial entities. Key measures supporting this goal include:

1. Opening national civil space research programs and basic research projects to commercial space entities.
2. Promoting the commercialization of national technological achievements to benefit the wider industry.
3. Establishing dedicated space-technology innovation platforms to accelerate development.
4. Granting commercial actors access to national research, development, and testing facilities.
5. Integrating civil and commercial space standards to ensure interoperability and quality.

Contributions to Economic and Environmental Sustainability

The policy framework extends beyond industrial capacity to address broader goals of sustainable development, reflecting key tenets of multiple SDGs.

• SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth): By positioning commercial space as a key driver of high-quality development, the policy aims to stimulate sustainable economic growth and create high-value employment opportunities in a new technological frontier.
• SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production): The plan directly promotes the development of a circular economy in orbit. It explicitly encourages new business models in on-orbit servicing, maintenance, and space debris mitigation and removal, addressing the long-term sustainability of the orbital environment.
• SDG 11 & 13 (Sustainable Cities & Climate Action): By promoting the enhanced utilization of satellite data, the policy supports critical infrastructure for monitoring urban development, managing natural disasters, and tracking climate change indicators, thereby contributing to the development of sustainable communities and informed climate action.
• SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): The identification of space biopharmaceuticals as a target area for new business models highlights a commitment to leveraging the space environment for innovations in health and medicine.

Strategic Objectives and New Frontiers for Sustainable Development

The CNSA policy elevates commercial space from an auxiliary sector to a central pillar of China’s national space architecture. It identifies specific areas for industrial expansion and the development of new business models that are intrinsically linked to sustainable practices and future economic opportunities. These target areas include:

• Space resource development and utilization
• In-space manufacturing
• On-orbit servicing and maintenance
• Space environment monitoring and detection
• Space tourism
• Space biopharmaceuticals
• Comprehensive space debris management (monitoring, early warning, mitigation, and removal)

This strategic direction indicates that China’s ambitions in space are multifaceted, extending beyond crewed exploration to encompass the creation of a sustainable and economically viable ecosystem in Earth’s orbit and beyond, in alignment with global development objectives.

Analysis of China’s Commercial Space Policy and the SDGs

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article on China’s commercial space policy blueprint connects to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by focusing on economic development, technological advancement, infrastructure, and environmental management in the context of space activities.

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: The policy aims to create a “high-quality commercial space sector” and notes that commercial space is a “key driver of high-tech and high-quality development.” This directly supports the goal of promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth.
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: This is a central theme of the article. The plan sets out “22 key measures to boost innovation,” build “space-technology innovation platforms,” and coordinate “ground infrastructure development.” This aligns perfectly with building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation.
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production: The article explicitly mentions addressing “space debris—including monitoring, early warning, mitigation and removal.” This relates to the sustainable management of resources and the reduction of waste, extending the principles of responsible production and consumption to the orbital environment.
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: The policy emphasizes a public-private partnership model. The plan is to “incorporate commercial spaceflight into the overall national space development plan” and foster “cooperation with nationally-funded entities.” This reflects the goal of strengthening the means of implementation through multi-stakeholder partnerships.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the article’s details, the following specific SDG targets can be identified:

1. Target 8.2 (under SDG 8): “Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation…” The article’s focus on making commercial space a “key driver of high-tech and high-quality development” and fostering “new business models” in areas like space manufacturing and biopharmaceuticals directly addresses this target.
2. Target 9.4 (under SDG 9): “…upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency…” The policy’s aim to “improve the efficiency of resource use” and develop new technologies for space activities, including debris removal, aligns with making the emerging space industry more sustainable.
3. Target 9.5 (under SDG 9): “Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors… encouraging innovation…” The plan’s measures to “boost innovation,” open “civil space research programs… to commercial space entities,” and promote “commercialization of national technological achievements” are a direct implementation of this target.
4. Target 12.5 (under SDG 12): “By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.” The explicit mention of developing business models for “space debris—including monitoring, early warning, mitigation and removal” is a direct application of this target’s principle to the challenge of orbital debris.
5. Target 17.17 (under SDG 17): “Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships…” The entire policy is built on this concept, aiming to “incorporate commercial spaceflight into the overall national space development plan” and opening “national research and testing facilities to commercial actors.”

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article does not mention official SDG indicators, but it implies several metrics that could be used to measure progress:

• For Target 9.5: Progress can be measured by the number of “space-technology innovation platforms” established, the amount of government R&D funding allocated to commercial entities, and the number of “national technological achievements” that are successfully commercialized.
• For Target 12.5: An implied indicator is the development and deployment of technologies and operational systems for “space debris—including monitoring, early warning, mitigation and removal.” Success could be measured by the number of active debris removal missions or a quantifiable reduction in the growth rate of orbital debris.
• For Target 17.17: Progress towards public-private partnerships can be measured by tracking the number of commercial companies utilizing “national research and testing facilities” and the total value of “government procurement” contracts awarded to the commercial space sector.
• For Target 8.2: The growth of the commercial space sector can be measured by its contribution to the national economy, the number of new companies and jobs created in the sector, and the market value of “new business models” such as space tourism and on-orbit servicing.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: spacenews.com