In a move hailed by Chinese media as a geopolitical turning point, Iran has announced plans to gradually replace the U.S.-controlled GPS system with China’s Beidou satellite navigation network. The decision, revealed in mid-July by Iran’s Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technology, is being framed in China not merely as a technical shift, but as a defiant rejection of American dominance over global digital infrastructure.
For decades, the U.S. has shaped the backbone of global technology, from operating systems and the internet to telecom and satellite networks. But according to the Chinese state-affiliated outlet Guancha.cn, this reliance is increasingly viewed by countries like Iran as a national security risk. “Western platforms are no longer seen as mere tools of communication, but as instruments of digital intelligence warfare,” the outlet stated.
Zhan Hao, a prominent Chinese military commentator on WeChat, echoed this sentiment in even starker terms: “The era of blindly and naively depending on U.S.-controlled infrastructure is coming to an end.”
Zhan pointed to Iran’s recent wake-up call: during a 12-day conflict in June, GPS signals were repeatedly disrupted across Iranian territory and nearby waters. Iran has long accused the U.S. and Israel of using digital surveillance to enable targeted assassinations of its nuclear scientists and military leaders. In the aftermath of the conflict, GPS instability remains widespread, compounded by Iran’s own jamming efforts to prevent external tracking. The resulting disruption has affected millions of internet users and thousands of businesses, making the search for a reliable alternative increasingly urgent.
Zhan argued that Iran’s pivot could have broader consequences. As a major power in the Middle East, its move may prompt neighboring countries to reassess their own strategic dependencies, potentially triggering a regional shift away from U.S.-controlled systems. A digital realignment of this scale could reshape the geopolitical balance in the region.
Why Is This Important?
To Chinese observers, when a country chooses China’s Beidou satellite system over the U.S.-run GPS, it sends a powerful political signal. It reflects not only a distrust of American oversight but also a growing alignment with China’s vision of technological sovereignty and multipolar order.
