China's satellite navigation industry output hits 469 billion yuan

BEIJING -- The total output value of China's satellite navigation and location services industry reached 469 billion yuan (about $69.6 billion) in 2021, up 16.3 percent from the previous year, according to an industry white paper released on May 18.

China remained the top source of international satellite navigation patent applications last year, with a total of 98,000 applications, said the white paper issued by the Global Navigation Satellite System and Location Based Service Association of China.

Applications of the homegrown BeiDou Navigation Satellite System have been widely introduced into business fields and daily life, said Sun Zhongliang, deputy head of the association, adding that mass consumption has become one of the major sectors for BeiDou applications.

Sun highlighted bike-sharing services, saying the number of shared bicycles equipped with a BeiDou positioning chip has reached 5 million in over 450 cities across the country.