Russia and China Renew Partnership on Satellite Navigation Systems
The new five-year roadmap deepens cooperation on joint technology development, data exchange, and cross-system compatibility between GLONASS and BeiDou.
Russia and China have signed a new Roadmap for Cooperation in Satellite Navigation, outlining their plans for joint work over the next five years. The agreement was formalized in Hangzhou by Dmitry Bakanov, head of Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos, and Guan Jun, chair of the Chinese Navigation System Commission.
The roadmap focuses on advancing interoperability and complementarity between Russia’s GLONASS and China’s BeiDou navigation systems. It includes plans for joint technology creation, data sharing, and enhanced monitoring of satellite signal performance. Both sides see the partnership as a way to strengthen the reliability and precision of navigation services used in aviation, maritime transport, geodesy, and emergency response.
Over the past five years, Russia and China have already launched a joint time laboratory, developed a testing platform for navigation systems, and signed agreements to host ground stations in each other’s territories — improvements that have boosted the stability and accuracy of both constellations.
The new roadmap, part of a broader set of agreements signed during the 30th Regular Meeting of Russian and Chinese government leaders, underscores the countries’ shared goal of building independent, globally competitive navigation networks as alternatives to Western systems like GPS.
