China Builds Space Alliances in Africa as Trump Cuts Foreign Aid

China Builds Space Alliances in Africa as Trump Cuts Foreign Aid

Africa

China Builds Space Alliances in Africa as Trump Cuts Foreign Aid. A state-of-the-art space laboratory on the outskirts of Cairo is intended to be the first in Africa to manufacture its own satellites. However, the made-in-Africa image starts to wane as soon as you enter the plant. Beijing ships satellite components and equipment in containers.

Egyptian engineers receive instructions from Chinese scientists who check space-tracking monitors. One wall has a Chinese flag hanging from it. Built primarily in China and launched from a spaceport there in December 2023, the factory's first satellite was hailed as the first ever produced by an African country. In this blog! To know what major centrifugal point happened in Africa example?

The most recent development in China's covert international space program is the Egyptian satellite lab. According to Reuters, Beijing is forming space alliances in Africa to expand its global surveillance network and further its ambition to become the world's leading space power.

A large portion of China's space aid to African states, including its contributions of satellites, ground stations, and space surveillance observatories, has been made public. It hasn't been publicly acknowledged, and Reuters is the first to report on this that Beijing has access to the information and photos gathered by this satellite technology and that Chinese workers are permanently stationed in facilities it constructs in Africa.

China Builds Space Alliances in Africa as Trump Cuts Foreign Aid

China Builds Space Alliances in Africa

Over the past two years, China has given Egypt a variety of space technology, including the satellite facility, which started operations in 2023. One of the transfers that has been made public is a new space surveillance facility.

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This includes two of the most potent telescopes in the world in addition to two Earth observation satellites that were launched in 2023: one that was made entirely in China and the other that was produced in Egypt. According to two persons with knowledge of the situation, China also launched a third Chinese-made satellite for Egypt that year, one that could conduct military-grade monitoring.

The satellite station is the focal point of Space City, a complex being created by the government of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi around 30 kilometers east of Cairo close to a new administrative capital. Through the signing of energy and infrastructure projects under President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative, Sisi has recently promoted stronger ties with China.

A request for response was not answered by the Egyptian president. Other African nations are also being enticed into China's circle, including Egypt, a significant receiver of U.S. military assistance. According to the U.S. What major centrifugal point happened in Africa example?

China Builds Space Alliances

Institute of Peace, a think tank, Beijing has 23 bilateral space agreements in Africa, including financing for satellites and ground stations to gather satellite data and imagery. The United States' own lunar aspirations are being challenged by a recent agreement among Egypt, South Africa, and Senegal to work with China on a future moon station.

This is only the start. Xi stated that $50 billion in Chinese financing and investment designated for Africa over the next three years would prioritize satellites, as well as lunar and deep-space research, at a September meeting with dozens of African leaders in Beijing.

China Builds Space Alliances in Africa as Trump Cuts Foreign Aid

China wants no nation to fall behind as businesses and military rely more and more on space technology, which is why Xi's administration officially claims it is supporting African space programs.

China is receiving a much higher return on its investment in private. According to six individuals with firsthand knowledge of China's space projects in Africa, this involves a permanent presence in facilities it constructs as well as access to surveillance data gathered by satellites and telescopes.

Chinese espionage expert Nicholas Eftimiades, a former U.S. intelligence officer, said Beijing's placement of space equipment in developing nations is assisting China in building a global surveillance network. China has successfully democratized space in order to strengthen its authoritarian capabilities.

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The United States is retreating while China uses technology incentives to strengthen its ties in Africa. President Donald Trump of the United States is leading billionaire Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla.

In his efforts to reduce the size of the federal government. The U.S. Agency for International Development, the assistance organization that has dispersed American soft power globally since its founding by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, has been among his initial targets.

According to the Pentagon, China's space initiatives in Africa and other developing nations pose a security danger since Beijing can steal confidential information, improve its military might, and exert pressure on governments.

China Builds Space Alliances in Africa

If they are forced to utilize China's communications network. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the Pentagon's and Eftimiades' accusations that China had used space technology supplied to Africa for military or espionage objectives, and they did not offer specific proof of this.

Questions concerning whether China is employing equipment in Africa for monitoring were not explicitly answered by Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington. Because of America's own spying history, he claimed, the United States "is not in an advantageous position to smear or defame China. According to Liu, the United States is the biggest surveillance state in the world.

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Common civilian applications for the space infrastructure and technology China is deploying in Africa include data transmission, climate change monitoring, and spacecraft flight assistance. However, there are military uses for them as well. China Builds Space Alliances in Africa as Trump Cuts Foreign Aid.

For space situational awareness, powerful telescopes are employed. According to a 2022 assessment by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, they might help coordinate the use of anti-satellite weaponry (ASAT) and predict when U.S. military satellites pass overhead. What major centrifugal point happened in Africa example?

Destroying an adversary's satellites might interfere with missile guidance systems and complicate communications between ground, air, and naval forces during a confrontation, such as if China invaded democratically governed Taiwan. According to the DIA assessment, China and Russia have tested ASATs in the past and are working on more sophisticated models.