How China Is Threatening U.S. GPS Dominance

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Published 2023-07-29

For decades, the United States has been a leader in satellite navigation technology. The U.S. Global Positioning System, or GPS as most of us know it, was originally designed as a military tool, but has also become indispensable in the lives of civilians, with over 6 billion users around the world. But the U.S. is not the only country with its own global navigation satellite system. Russia has GLONASS and the European Union has Galileo. In 2020, China launched the last satellite needed to complete its own global system called Beidou, which translates to “Big Dipper” in English. Since then, the influence of Beidou has grown, with an estimated 1.1 billion people now using the system. Experts say Beidou underpins not only China’s military ambitions, but is also spurring economic growth in the country and increasing its diplomatic leverage.

Chapters:
00:00 — Introduction
02:20 — GPS vs. Beidou
06:20 — Challenging GPS
09:47 — GPS modernization

Produced by: Magdalena Petrova
Camera: Lucas Mullikin
Graphics: Christina Locopo, Andrea Schmitz
Supervising Producer: Jeniece Pettitt
Additional footage: U.S. Space Force, Lockheed Martin
Additional sources: Federal Aviation Administration

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How China Is Threatening U.S. GPS Dominance

All Comments (21)

@directxxxx71 10 months ago

The title should be : How China is de-risking from US GPS monopoly
@whitemoon5752 10 months ago

It’s so funny. US ban China from using its GPS , China develops it own. US says it is not Fair! 😮
@fingerprint8479 9 months ago

The US media's effort trying to portrait Chinese achievements and inovative proes as a negative thing for the world is disgusting!
@johnmcentegart007 9 months ago

The U.S. is the world’s most notorious gangster.
@orangetube1 10 months ago

An average citizen can see the US media bias. It's pathetic.
@rs-dp6pr 10 months ago

When you see the title, you realize how American media is with the mindset.. whenever others have something, then it's a threat.. this is becoming pathetic.
@cowholy3031 9 months ago

Can Americans stop thinking that everyone in the world loves your country? Your country is not pure gold.
@weiruiruan 9 months ago

China had the US and EU to cooperate with the satellite project two decades ago, but they refused, so China developed its own system by itself.
@lindagonzalez5513 10 months ago

Everything that challenges US hegemony is a threat to them 😂
@luoxx422 10 months ago

Threatening U.S. GPS dominance? How about "breaking U.S. GPS dominance"? There is no need to watch the full video to know it was totally biased.
@streetman6661 8 months ago

"the beidou system will become a tracking device, an information, device, a surveillance device for the Chinese" which is EXACTLY what the GPS system has been doing as a tracking, information stealing and surveillance device for the US government🤣
@lagrangewei 8 months ago

China did not want to build Beidou. they join the EU Galileo program. however EU decide to nationalise the program and left China out so China has no choice but to develop their own. China has never wish to compete with the West, but the West always abandons China so China has no choice but to depend on itself. the move the West abandon China, the more capabilities China will have on its own. it time the West learn to reflect China as a peer and not think they can't have their own if they are abandoned.
@taikhingchang 10 months ago

I’m from South East Asia, we always face problem from American to temporary switch off their GPS and causing our ship lost direction in the sea frequently. Luckily China help us to solve the problem. GPS is not serving the world, it serve American only, on the other hand, China is the only country show helping hand.
@GOAT_MESSI53 10 months ago

When China approaches the United States, the United States always says that China is threatening the United States, which is really shameless😂😂😂
@donaldchurchill4092 8 months ago

The US gov has repeatedly blocking and jamming GPS signals in areas and ships which we don't like. The Yinhe incident was a strong trigger to make China decide to build their own navigation system.
@mweieros 9 months ago

I’m happy to see so many sober , wise, comments
@themindsojourner 10 months ago

Threatening? You ask permission to use the constellation and rejected. You build your own. Then people said you are a threat. Where is the logic here?
@EdinAibak 10 months ago

Technology is not only meant for America, everybody can build their own.
@JD-yz4kr 8 months ago

Not relying on another nation is called de-risking and protecting national security. That is true for the US, as well as for other countries.
@kremigmitsahne7197 5 months ago

China is just better at almost everything. However, unlike the USA and it's lapdogs, China doesn't have imperialist and destructive behaviour. So no need to cry, CNBC.