The evolving China-Pakistan space cooperation

China and Pakistan have systematically deepened their space partnership, with Chinese institutions co-developing and launching multiple Pakistani satellites ...

What Happened

China and Pakistan have systematically deepened their space partnership, with Chinese institutions co-developing and launching multiple Pakistani satellites spanning communications, remote sensing, and Earth observation over the past two years — a pattern that mirrors the terrestrial all-weather strategic partnership framed around CPEC.
In May 2024, Pakistan launched the PakSAT-MM1 multi-mission communication satellite, which became the world's first satellite to adopt BeiDou navigation standards as its primary augmentation target, marking a strategic shift away from GPS dependence.
Pakistan's space agency SUPARCO has launched five indigenous satellites in rapid succession since 2024, though Chinese technical assistance, launch vehicles, and launch facilities remain integral to this accelerated cadence — raising questions about genuine indigenous capability versus technology dependence.

Static Topic Bridges

China's Space Programme — CNSA and Strategic Dimensions

China's space programme, administered by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), has grown from a Soviet-assisted rocket programme in the 1950s into the world's second most capable space power. China's space assets now serve intertwined civilian and military objectives, making the programme a central element of its comprehensive national power strategy.

BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS): China's indigenous global satellite navigation system, completed in 2020 with 35 operational satellites; positioned as an alternative to the US GPS, Russia's GLONASS, and the EU's Galileo.
Pakistan formally transitioned from GPS to BDS in 2018, becoming one of the first countries to adopt BeiDou as its primary navigation system.
CNSA's lunar programme: Chang'e series — Chang'e-4 achieved the first soft landing on the Moon's far side (2019); Chang'e-5 returned lunar samples (2020); Chang'e-6 returned samples from the Moon's far side (2024).
China's Tiangong space station has been operational since 2021, with a permanent crew; China explicitly invited Pakistan to propose experiments for Tiangong.
China is also developing a lunar research station (ILRS) as a rival to the US-led Artemis framework.

Connection to this news: China's space cooperation with Pakistan extends BeiDou's geopolitical reach and creates a Pakistan-centred node of space-based ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) capability in South Asia that serves both countries' strategic interests against India.

SUPARCO and Pakistan's Space Capability

The Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), established in 1961 in Karachi and made an independent commission in 1981, is Pakistan's national space agency. SUPARCO has historically been underfunded relative to India's ISRO, with limited indigenous design capability.

Pakistan's first satellite, Badr-1 (52 kg), was indigenously designed but launched by China in 1990 — the start of the China-Pakistan space launch relationship.
Current operational satellites: PakSAT-1R and PakSAT-MM1 (communications); PRSS-1, PAKTES-1A, EO-1, EO-2, and EO-3 (remote sensing/Earth observation).
In January 2025, SUPARCO launched its first indigenously designed Electro-Optical (EO-1) satellite from China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre; EO-3 (launched May 2026) carries an AI-powered onboard processor for real-time data processing in orbit.
In May 2024, iCube-Qamar, Pakistan's first lunar orbiter, was carried to the Moon by China's Chang'e-6 mission — making Pakistan the sixth country to have an orbiter around the Moon.
Pakistani astronauts are scheduled to fly to space aboard Chinese missions, using Shenzhou spacecraft.

Connection to this news: While SUPARCO's recent satellite cadence signals ambition, the near-total reliance on Chinese launch vehicles and technical co-development means Pakistan's "space capability" is substantially an extension of Chinese space power, not an independent strategic asset.

CPEC and Space Cooperation Linkages

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), formally launched in 2015 as a flagship project of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is a $62 billion (originally estimated) infrastructure and investment package connecting Gwadar port in Balochistan to Kashgar in China's Xinjiang province through road, rail, pipeline, and energy projects.

CPEC Phase-II has expanded beyond infrastructure to include digital connectivity and technology transfer, providing the institutional framework within which space cooperation is embedded.
BeiDou-enabled precision navigation is directly relevant to CPEC supply chains, port logistics at Gwadar, and potentially military precision-strike guidance.
Dual-use satellites co-developed under the space partnership provide ISR capability over the Indian subcontinent, Arabian Sea, and Indo-Pacific approaches — enhancing Chinese strategic intelligence while formally remaining Pakistani national assets.
Space cooperation agreements are typically signed as government-to-government MoUs under the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC), the governance body for CPEC.

Connection to this news: The Pakistan-China space programme is best understood as an extension of the CPEC strategic architecture into the space domain — each satellite strengthens the operational capabilities underpinning CPEC infrastructure security and Chinese power projection in the Indian Ocean Region.

India's Strategic Concerns

India's concerns about China-Pakistan space cooperation centre on four dimensions: dual-use ISR capability, BeiDou-guided precision munitions, intelligence sharing over Indian territory, and the normative precedent of integrating a smaller state's space programme into a major power's strategic framework.

Remote sensing satellites like EO-1, EO-2, and EO-3 operated by or with China's assistance can provide imagery of Indian military installations, border positions, and naval deployments in the Indian Ocean Region.
The proliferation of BeiDou to Pakistani military platforms improves precision-guided munitions accuracy for Pakistan's armed forces.
India's ISRO operates independently; India does not share satellite data platforms with adversary states — in contrast to Pakistan's deep integration with CNSA.
India is a signatory to the Artemis Accords (June 2023), aligning itself with a US-led space governance framework, partly as a counterweight to the China-led ILRS coalition that includes Pakistan.

Connection to this news: Each new China-Pakistan space cooperation milestone — from BeiDou adoption to shared EO satellites — adds a layer of space-based military enablement to an already adversarial two-front strategic environment for India.

Key Facts & Data

SUPARCO established: 1961 (Karachi); made independent commission: 1981
Pakistan's first satellite (Badr-1): launched by China in 1990
CPEC formal launch: 2015; original estimated value: $62 billion
PakSAT-MM1 launched: 30 May 2024 — world's first satellite using BeiDou as primary navigation augmentation standard
Pakistan transitioned from GPS to BDS (BeiDou): 2018
iCube-Qamar (lunar orbiter) carried by Chang'e-6 to Moon: May 2024 — Pakistan became 6th country to send an orbiter to the Moon
Pakistan's EO-1 (first indigenous EO satellite) launched from Jiuquan: January 2025
India became 27th signatory to Artemis Accords: June 21, 2023