China’s commercial space sector expands past 400 companies

China now has more than 400 commercial space companies, a fast expansion that could reshape competition in rockets, satellites and space services. Rainer Zitelmann wrote in Fortune that the sector has grown far beyond its former image as a state-only program, even as government groups remain powerful.

Zitelmann said China’s commercial space activity covers reusable launch vehicles, satellite networks, space-tourism plans and asteroid-mining projects. He argued that Western attention has stayed centered on SpaceX and Elon Musk while Chinese entrepreneurs have built a broad domestic industry.

Reforms opened the door

According to Zitelmann, China’s space activity was almost entirely controlled by government bodies and state-owned companies until 2014. Policy changes that year allowed more private investment, helping create room for startups led in many cases by engineers who had worked inside state aerospace organizations.

Zitelmann wrote that China had about 430 private space companies by 2022. He also cited an estimate that the country’s 100 largest space firms were worth about $100 billion combined by 2024.

SpaceX played a major role in changing Chinese attitudes, according to Zitelmann. He wrote that Chinese officials initially treated Musk’s company with skepticism, but the reusable Falcon 9 rocket’s effect on launch costs and SpaceX’s growing share of the launch market pushed Beijing to look beyond large state firms.

China space analyst Blaine Curcio, cited by Zitelmann, said Chinese space companies closely track Starship launches, Starlink deployments and many public comments from Musk. Zitelmann said Chinese firms have studied SpaceX’s work in detail and have shaped some of their own priorities around those lessons.

Startups reach orbit

Zitelmann pointed to several companies as examples of the sector’s progress. LandSpace, founded in 2015, put its Zhuque-2 methane-fueled rocket into orbit in 2023, which Zitelmann described as the first successful orbital launch of a methane-powered rocket by any company.

He noted that SpaceX’s Starship and Relativity Space’s Terran 1 did not succeed in comparable attempts that same year. Methane is viewed in the industry as a useful fuel for reusable rockets and possible interplanetary missions, Zitelmann wrote.

Other Chinese firms have also crossed early milestones, according to Zitelmann. i-Space became the first Chinese private company to reach orbit in 2019, Galactic Energy has become a leading domestic launch provider, CAS Space is working on launch vehicles and tourism missions, and Deep Blue Aerospace plans suborbital tourist flights beginning in 2027.

The sector also extends beyond launch, Zitelmann wrote. Companies are building satellites, communications systems, Earth-observation tools, navigation services and components for the wider space economy.

Geely, China’s largest privately owned carmaker, created a space subsidiary called Geespace in 2018, according to Zitelmann. By late 2025, Geespace had launched 64 satellites, with plans to reach 240, and had partnerships with telecom operators in more than 20 countries.

Government support brings limits

Zitelmann said Chinese space startups often receive subsidies, tax breaks, launch-site access and provincial government investment. He also wrote that this support can curb flexibility and leave companies exposed to political changes.

He contrasted that system with the United States, where SpaceX’s scale still gives America a clear lead. Zitelmann argued, however, that China has built depth across launch services, satellites, communications and space manufacturing, making a narrow comparison with SpaceX alone incomplete.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.