The value of industries related to China's homegrown BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is estimated to exceed 1 trillion yuan (about 156.4 billion U.S. dollars) by 2025, said an official with the country's satellite navigation administration.

 

The figure was revealed by Yang Jun, deputy director of China's Satellite Navigation System Management Office, at the three-day 12th China Satellite Navigation Conference that opened Wednesday in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province.

 

China has fostered a complete and independent industrial chain for developing BDS and has exported BDS-powered products to more than 120 countries and regions, Yang said.

 

He added that based on BDS's performance index in the first half of this year, the system is functioning well with a signal-in-space accuracy of less than 0.5 meters.

 

To date, more than 7 million commercial vehicles, about 36,300 postal and delivery vehicles, and 350 aircraft in China have been equipped with BDS, according to data provided by Yang.

 

BDS has also empowered the self-driving system of more than 45,000 agricultural machineries nationwide, helping slash human exertion in the sector.

 

The total output value of China's satellite navigation and location services industry reached 403.3 billion yuan in 2020, up 16.9 percent from the previous year, according to a recent industry report.