China's Space Narrative: Examining the Portrayal of the US-China Space Relationship in Chinese Sources and Its Implications for the United States
Abstract
Both China and the United States, have created separate parts of their military dedicated to space. Commercial, scientific, and military endeavors in space are all intimately linked, and one must understand how they are viewed to better understand how a nation might proceed in one or all of those fields. In accordance with our charter to support the Secretary of the Air Force, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Chief of Space Operations, and other DoD and U.S. government leaders, the China Aerospace Studies Institute designed it's 2020 CASI Conference around China's space activities. This report serves as the baseline and the core of that effort. This report was a collaboration between CASI and CNA's China and Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Division. We would like to thank the team at CNA for their work on this project. The authors would like to thank Second Lieutenant Owen Ou (USA) for contributing his research for this project, and Dr. Brian Weeden for his review of the study. The rise of China's space program presents military, economic, and political challenges to the United States. In March 2019, Vice President Michael Pence stated that the United States and China are in a new space race "with even higher stakes" than the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union and that China has an "ambition to seize the lunar strategic high ground and become the world's preeminent spacefaring nation." This report examines Chinese perceptions of the U.S.-China space relationship. It argues that China's space program is one component of the Chinese Communist Party's goal of making China rich, strong, and proud. China regards its space program as an important expression of its national power that serves its political, economic, and military interests. Although Chinese sources describe the United States as the leading space power, they see their own space program as catching up with the United States and surpassing it by mid-century.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1145676
Entities
People
- Anthony Miller
- Brian Waidelich
- Kevin Pollpeter
- Timothy Ditter
Organizations
- Air University