Competing for the Trillion-Yuan Market, Two Coastal Provinces Join Hands

According to a news release from Hainan, on April 13, the Hainan provincial government and the Jiangsu provincial government signed a strategic cooperation memorandum in the field of commercial space in Haikou. Liu Xiaoming, the governor of Hainan Province, witnessed the signing.

According to the strategic cooperation memorandum, the two signing parties will give full play to Hainan's unique geographical location, policy, and industrial foundation advantages in the field of commercial space launches. Relying on Jiangsu's strong strength in commercial space manufacturing, technology R & D, talent supply, and industrial chain support, they will promote the complementary resources, overlapping advantages, and coordinated development of the two provinces. In accordance with national safety supervision requirements and market models, they will focus on the core links of the commercial space industrial chain, deepen all - round cooperation in areas such as launch services, equipment manufacturing, technology R & D, talent cultivation, data services, application expansion, and industrial ecosystem. They will jointly cultivate new productive forces in the commercial space industry, enhance the core competitiveness of the commercial space industry, build a demonstration area for the coordinated development of the commercial space industry that is leading in the country and has global influence, and contribute to the high - quality development of the national commercial space industry.

The strength of the aerospace industry is an important indicator to measure a country's economic, technological level, and national defense strength. Commercial space, which is market - oriented and profit - driven, is a new force in the aerospace industry, covering areas such as rocket launches, satellite applications, and space tourism.

Data from the "Prospect of China's Commercial Space Industry Development in 2026" released by the CCID think tank shows that in 2025, the scale of China's commercial space market was 2.83 trillion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 21.7%, with a five - year compound growth rate of 23.1%, significantly higher than the global average of 12.8% during the same period.

Facing the next five years, the national "15th Five - Year Plan" outline proposes to accelerate the development of strategic emerging industries such as aviation and aerospace. Currently, more and more regions, including Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Beijing, and Shanghai, are actively making arrangements.

Industry analysts point out that in the past, the output value of China's commercial space industrial chain was concentrated in the front - end. In 2025, the scale of the rocket and satellite manufacturing segment reached 984.8 billion yuan. However, currently, the structure of the industrial chain is starting to adjust. The four downstream areas of ground station construction and operation, satellite communication operation, remote sensing operation, and satellite navigation and location services will contribute a market increment of about 450 billion yuan, accounting for about 70% of the total increment in the commercial space industry.

This precisely forms the basis for cooperation between Jiangsu and Hainan. Jiangsu's strength in the commercial space industry stems from its profound manufacturing foundation. Taking Suzhou as an example, at the Zhangjiagang Liquid Rocket Manufacturing Base, the Tianlong - 3 rocket "Suzhou" of Tianbing Technology is scheduled to make its maiden flight in July this year. About 95% of its components can be supplied within a 100 - kilometer radius, and the one - hour industrial circle covers the entire chain from materials to final assembly.

Hainan is home to China's first commercial space launch site - the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site in Wenchang. The latest news shows that the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site has completed two launch pads and has the ability for regular launches, with 14 consecutive successful launches. By the end of 2026, two new launch pads will be completed, and new pads will continue to be built to quickly achieve high - density, low - cost, and stable launch capabilities.

According to the project capacity plan, the designed annual launch capacity of the four launch pads is expected to exceed 60 times. The launch cycle of a single pad can be reduced from once a month to 10 days or even a week, realizing true flight - like launches and significantly enhancing the rapid response and high - density launch capabilities of the domestic commercial space industry.

According to the strategic cooperation memorandum, the two parties will give full play to Hainan's unique geographical location, policy, and industrial foundation advantages in the field of commercial space launches. Relying on Jiangsu's strong strength in commercial space manufacturing, technology R & D, talent supply, and industrial chain support, they will promote the complementary resources, overlapping advantages, and coordinated development of the two provinces.

Under the overall provincial leadership, local cities and enterprises are also promoting the implementation. At this meeting, the governments of Lianyungang and Wuxi signed a "Commercial Space Cooperation Memorandum" with Hainan International Commercial Space Launch Co., Ltd., and the governments of Lianyungang, Wuxi, and Wenchang signed a "Strategic Cooperation Agreement for the Commercial Space Consortium".

This article is from the WeChat official account "Urban Evolution Theory", written by Yang Huan and published by 36Kr with authorization.