US-China technological rivalry expands into space control

The technological and geopolitical competition between the United States and China is expanding beyond trade and economics into critical sectors including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and space control. This rivalry is increasingly characterized by a focus on securing supply chains, controlling research data, and managing strategic technologies as matters of national security.

Space has emerged as a new dimension of this competition. The United States has publicly confirmed the possession of space-based weapons for “space control,” a move criticized by China as a step toward a new arms race. Russia has also called for binding regulations against weapons in space. Concurrently, NATO is significantly expanding its capabilities, officially designating space as a distinct operational domain due to the critical role satellites play in communication, navigation, and military reconnaissance.