Beidou summit highlights innovations

A total of 33 cutting-edge products, technologies, and applications related to China's Beidou navigation satellite system, or BDS, debuted on Wednesday, highlighting the latest progress in the large-scale and international application of the technology.

The innovative achievements, spanning fields including transportation, emergency response, communications, and forestry, were launched at the 4th International Summit on BDS Applications. 

Among the major highlights of the innovations was a Beidou voice message technology developed by Huawei and China Space-Time Information that applies significant technological breakthroughs to consumer devices for the first time, enabling rapid voice distress calls in emergency situations.

China's Beidou industry is advancing at an exceptional speed, reaching a value of nearly 600 billion yuan this year, Cao Chong, chief scientist of the GNSS and LBS Association of China, said during the summit.

Cao highlighted the vast potential of Beidou yet to be tapped.

"The key is to advance market-driven growth through large-scale application, uncovering market demands and creating new scenarios," he said. 

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the completion of the BeiDou-3 navigation satellite system. Beidou products and services have covered more than 140 countries and regions, including ASEAN, Central Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East.

Arab nations are intensifying their cooperation in the application and industrialization of BDS technology, in fields including intelligent transportation, precision agriculture, smart tourism, public safety, and land surveying and mapping, said Sami Trimech, director of strategic planning and development at the Arab ICT Organization, who spoke at a forum at the summit.

The priority of the cooperation lies in the demonstration projects for precision farming in the Arab region, he said, as the machinery automatic steering system based on satellite navigation is widely used in China.

The international summit was jointly hosted by China's National Development and Reform Commission, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Transport, and the government of Hunan province.

Held in Zhuzhou, Hunan province, on Wednesday and Thursday, the event attracted hundreds of Chinese companies as well as delegations from 24 countries, including Madagascar, Pakistan, Brazil, and Laos.