China Has Ended the World’s Dependence on GPS in Two Decades. 140 Countries Already Use Its Alternative System

China has recently released data on its satellite navigation system, called BeiDou, for 2024. This information reflects a significant geopolitical transformation. Although it hasn’t attracted much attention, it’s quite important.

Why it matters. For decades, the U.S. has dominated global satellite navigation with GPS. However, China has developed a viable alternative in just 20 years, reducing its own dependence on foreign systems and providing options to other countries.

BeiDou began as a military project in China during the 1990s. It’s currently recognized by the United Nations as a global satellite navigation provider and is integrated into 11 international organizations.

Key figures:

• The Chinese satellite navigation sector generated revenue of $79.9 billion in 2024.
• This represents a 7.4% increase from 2023.
• BeiDou processes over one trillion location requests daily.
• It supports navigation covering 2.4 billion miles every day.
• Currently, 288 million mobile phones in China are equipped with BeiDou.
• The system covers 99% of the country’s urban and rural roads with lane-level accuracy.

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Not fully dominant yet. BeiDou hasn’t replaced GPS as the dominant global standard. Most current devices use multiple satellite constellations (GPS, BeiDou, Galileo, and GLONASS) to enhance accuracy and reliability.

The 140 countries utilizing BeiDou primarily do so as a complement to GPS rather than a complete replacement. They adopt it in several ways:

• More than 30 African countries have installed Continuously Operating Reference Stations to provide high-precision services in agriculture, water management, and meteorological monitoring.
• In Latin America, ports like Chancay in Peru are integrating BeiDou into intelligent navigation systems.
• In Asia and the Middle East, several countries use the Chinese constellation to enhance transportation and logistics services.

Most countries don’t fully replace GPS with BeiDou. Instead, they add BeiDou as a secondary option to reduce dependencies or improve coverage in areas where U.S. signals are weaker. One of BeiDou’s advantages is its superior coverage in the Southern Hemisphere. By 2020, it had achieved global coverage.

Reading between the lines. China hasn’t defeated GPS but has accomplished something equally significant: reducing its critical technological dependence. The U.S. can no longer cut off access to satellite navigation as a diplomatic weapon against China.

What comes next? BeiDou sets a Chinese precedent. The country isn’t working to replace Western systems completely, but to create viable alternatives that reduce strategic dependencies. The focus isn’t on competition but on building a parallel reality. This approach is also evident in how companies like Huawei operate.

Satellite navigation is just the beginning. China is applying this strategy in other areas such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy.

Image | SpaceX

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