China seeks to boost share of satellite market

China is actively exploring commercial opportunities to boost its share of the global satellite-launching market, in an attempt to challenge US and European dominance of this field.

China Great Wall Industry Corp, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, is using this year's Paris Air Show to showcase its next generation of heavy-lifting rocket, the Long March 5, which is expected to be first launched in 2015.

China Great Wall, the country's sole commercial provider of international launch services and satellite in-orbit delivery, is also using the event to demonstrate its Long March family of rockets, communication satellite platforms, and remote-sensing and meteorological satellites in the hope of attracting more potential international business, said Zhou Yuanying, the deputy general manager of the company's launch service division.