BeiDou, China’s version of GPS, now being used over 1 trillion times per day
The Chinese navigation system has ascended to a dominant position in its home market, driving nearly US$80 billion of economic output last year
The BeiDou satellite navigation system, China’s answer to GPS, cemented its leading position in the Chinese market last year, as its economic footprint grew more than 7 per cent and it expanded its compatibility to support a broader range of devices.
The home-grown system – named after the seven bright northern stars used for navigation in ancient China – drove a total of 575.8 billion yuan (US$79.9 billion) of economic output in 2024, up 7.39 per cent year on year, according to data published on Sunday by the GNSS and LBS Association of China, a semi-official industry body.
BeiDou is now compatible with 288 million smartphones – mostly produced by domestic brands like Huawei and Xiaomi – in China, and is used to track locations more than 1 trillion times every day, the association said.
China’s leading navigation apps – Baidu Maps and Amap – said they used BeiDou to guide users on journeys of a combined 4 billion kilometres per day.
Beijing has poured investment into domestic technologies amid fears the country could be cut off from US services like GPS during a period of heightened geopolitical tensions, but China’s vast market is also turning BeiDou into a viable business.
To expand its reach in China’s consumer market, BeiDou is expanding its compatibility from smartphones and in-vehicle satellite navigation systems to wearables, drones, electric bikes and even robots, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
BeiDou is also reportedly broadening its coverage in China and upgrading its technology to reduce latency, as GPS faces growing barriers in the Chinese market due to national security concerns.