China Is Creeping On U.S. Space Dominance. Can The U.S. Stay Ahead?

China has become a great competitor to the United States in space. Over the last several years, the country has executed a number of milestones including launching its own low earth orbit space station called Tiangong, landing a rover on the surface of Mars, returning the first ever samples from the far side of the moon and completing its own global satellite navigation system called BeiDou, which directly competes with the U.S. GPS constellation. One reason China has been able to hit these milestones is an injection of investment into its commercial space sector. Total investment jumped from $340 million in 2015 to $3.81 billion in 2025. China now has more than a dozen private rocket manufacturers, some of whom are working on reusable rockets like those made by SpaceX. Along with its partner, Russia, China is also building a lunar research station. The International Lunar Research Station now includes 13 member states. The initiative stands in opposition to the U.S.-lead Artemis Accords, which lay out a set of principals to guide civil space exploration and includes 56 member states. Still, experts say that there are a number of things the US can do to maintain its leadership in space. These include investing in spacesports, streamlining commercial launch licensing and allocating sufficient spectrum for satellite operations. Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:30 Chapter 1: Jump in space investment 3:04 Chapter 2: Hitting milestones 6:45 Chapter 3: Space is power Produced and Edited by: Magdalena Petrova Additional Editing: Darren Geeter Animation: Emily Park, Christina Locopo, Alisa Stern Senior Managing Producer: Shawn Baldwin Additional Footage: Getty Images Additional Sources: NASA, China National Space Administration » Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision » Watch CNBC on the go with CNBC+: https://www.cnbc.com/WatchCNBCPlus About CNBC: From 'Wall Street' to 'Main Street' to award winning original documentaries and Reality TV series, CNBC has you covered. Experience special sneak peeks of your favorite shows, exclusive video and more. Want to get ahead at work with AI? Sign up for CNBC's new online course, Beyond the Basics: How to Use AI to Supercharge Your Work. Learn advanced AI skills like building custom GPTs and using AI agents to boost your productivity today. Sign up today: https://cnb.cx/4qKBe6H Connect with CNBC News Online Get the latest news: https://www.cnbc.com/ Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC Follow CNBC on Threads: https://cnb.cx/threads Follow CNBC News on X: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC Follow CNBC on WhatsApp: https://cnb.cx/WhatsAppCNBC #CNBC China Is Creeping On U.S. Space Dominance. Can The U.S. Stay Ahead?