On Wednesday, October 23, Forward Defense Nonresident Senior Fellow Nicholas Eftimiades was quoted in an article for Voice of America (VOA) News on China’s plans for future space exploration missions. Chinese officials recently published a 25-year plan outlining major themes and priority areas with the goal of making China a world leader in space by 2050. In the article, written by Michael Baturin, Eftimiades states that “Space in particular has a huge public awareness, public pride [in China]… It emboldens the Chinese people, gives them a strong sense of nationalism and superiority, and that’s what the main focus of the Beijing government is.” However, Eftimiades mentions that the United States maintains its lead in the space race due to the success of its private and commercial capabilities, saying “The U.S. private industry has got the jump on China,” while Chinese state-owned enterprises are often weighed down by bureaucracy, leading to less “cutting-edge technology.”
Forward Defense develops and shapes policy solutions that build US military power to deter war and secure the future.