BEIJING, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- China is accelerating the integration of its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) with frontier technologies, expanding its application from consumer devices to industrial operations and powering growth across sectors.
Integration with frontier technologies, such as 5G and 6G, artificial intelligence, remote sensing and low-Earth-orbit satellites, is unlocking new capabilities for BeiDou-enabled devices.
"BeiDou has established real-time centimeter-level positioning coverage across China and global high-precision positioning services with fast convergence," said Gou Ping, chairman of China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd. "The system can support stable connectivity for billions of terminals, hundreds of millions of consumer users and millions of industrial users."
On the consumer end, more than 98 percent of smartphones sold in China now support BeiDou positioning, and over 100 million passenger vehicles are equipped with BeiDou onboard systems, according to an industry report released by the GNSS and LBS Association of China (GLAC).
Liu Zhenfei, chairman of Amap, Alibaba's mapping platform, said the company's AI-native agent -- described as the world's first built on map-based spatial intelligence -- relies on BeiDou's precise location and timing services.
The platform, now one of the world's largest civilian BeiDou service providers, makes approximately 1 trillion positioning requests per day, supporting a daily navigation distance of roughly 9 billion kilometers.
Beyond consumer applications, BeiDou is reshaping traditional industries. In Shanghai's suburban farmlands, more than 10,000 mu (about 667 hectares) of high-standard farmland have become a showcase for smart agriculture, with BeiDou-enabled machinery handling every step of rice cultivation -- from plowing to harvesting.
"The automatic navigation system for agricultural machinery, integrated with next-generation BeiDou positioning terminals, delivers more precise positioning and more stable signals," said Liu Bolin, an executive at a Shanghai-based tech firm.
According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, by the end of 2025, cumulative shipments of domestically produced BeiDou-compatible chips and modules had neared 2.6 billion units, while the total installed base of BeiDou-enabled terminals had exceeded 2.2 billion.
By the end of 2025, BeiDou had penetrated key sectors such as transportation, energy, urban development and emergency relief, while expanding into emerging areas such as the low-altitude economy, marine economy, and cultural and sports events.
Buoyed by its domestic reach, BeiDou is accelerating its global footprint. As one of four global navigation satellite systems recognized by the United Nations, BeiDou-related products have been exported to more than 140 countries and regions.
Chinese companies have formed an overseas alliance of 40 enterprises, running short-message application tests in Indonesia and Malaysia and establishing cooperation hubs in Brazil and Kazakhstan.
The efforts underpin a broader industry shift from simple product exports to localized, integrated solutions, with Chinese BeiDou companies increasingly delivering turnkey packages to overseas markets.
"With more sectors adopting BeiDou and more companies joining the industry, we are confident the sector will break through the 1 trillion yuan mark," said Li Zhisong, vice president of the GLAC. Sustained technological advancement and mature business models would be essential to better serve socio-economic development, Li added. ■
