China is going all-in on commercial space, and the numbers are starting to turn heads in financial circles. With a projected market value of over $900 billion by 2029, China’s space industry is shaping up to be one of its most ambitious bets yet, not just in science but also in innovation, global business, and tech independence.
According to The Wall Street Journal, China is rolling out reusable rockets, building new launch sites, and pumping billions of dollars into private companies to close the gap with SpaceX. Six reusable Chinese rockets, including the Zhuque-3 by LandSpace and Kinetica-2 by CAS Space, are scheduled to launch for the first time in 2025, marking a big shift toward cost-efficient commercial launches.
This Isn’t Just About Rockets
This is part of Beijing’s broader push to build a self-sufficient tech ecosystem that doesn’t rely on the West. With rising tensions between China and the U.S., space is again becoming a battleground and a potential goldmine for forward-looking investors.
President Xi Jinping has publicly called for a stronger private tech sector to drive innovation. Now, that formula is being applied to space. CEOs from space startups like GalaxySpace, which makes satellites, were invited to meet with Xi earlier this year.
China wants to be more than just a launch country. It’s creating its own versions of Starlink (like Guowang and Thousand Sails) and signing satellite deals with countries like Malaysia, Kazakhstan, and Brazil. This is a bid to serve domestic markets and become a serious global space service provider.
Experts See 2030 as a Milestone
That said, China still has a way to go. SpaceX isn’t standing still either, and its reusable Falcon 9 rocket has flown up to 26 times and handled over half the world’s orbital launches in 2024. By comparison, China’s state-owned CASC launched 51 rockets last year, and none of them was reusable.
Still, Chinese companies are learning fast. Many founders, like Deep Blue Aerospace’s Huo Liang, are chasing similar milestones and selling suborbital space tourism tickets for over $100,000.
The billion-dollar question is whether they’ll catch up. Some experts say that by 2030, China’s private space players could seriously compete on the global stage. Apparently, the space race has never truly ended; it was just on pause for three decades.
Tipranks’ Comparison Tool
By using Tipranks’ comparison tool, we’ve collected some of the notable aerospace and defense stocks on Wall Street. Of course, SpaceX is not included as it’s not publicly traded.
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