China’s Space Program Becomes New Soft Power Message in Africa

China’s Ambassador to Botswana Zhao Yanbo was among a number of Chinese envoys and embassies who celebrated this week’s launch of the Long March-3B rocket, which carried the new Beidou Navigation Satellite System into orbit. The new nav system presents an immediate challenge to the U.S.-led Global Positioning System (GPS) that we’ve all been using for years.

63 years after the Soviets launched Sputnik, Ambassador Zhao’s Tweet highlights how space is once again emerging as an important theme in a new great power duel.

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by Eric Olander

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