China Publishes Official Space-Governance Policy Rejecting Weaponisation

Overview

• China’s foreign ministry released a formal space-governance document that restates opposition to weaponising or militarising outer space and calls for every effort to prevent an arms race.
• The paper frames the main threat to space security as the growing risk of an arms race and the trend toward turning space into a battlefield.
• It urges that outer space be used for peaceful purposes and says all countries’ rights to access, explore and use space must be safeguarded.
• The document proposes regulating commercial space activity by encouraging a space economy while banning commercial actions that infringe other states’ lawful rights or intervene in their conflicts.
• Although the release sets an authoritative diplomatic position rather than binding rules, it could shift multilateral negotiations on space norms and affect how private space firms plan activities that might touch on sovereignty or security.