China's satellite navigation system to expand coverage globally by 2020

Chen Yiping, captain of fishing boat Qiongqionghai 03889, uses Beidou navigation to guide the vessel to Huangyan Island for fishing. [HUANG YIMING/CHINA DAILY]

BEIJING - The Beidou satellite navigation system will be fully operational worldwide by 2020, said Li Jian, deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on Thursday.

Li was speaking at an international forum on aviation security in Beijing.

The system has been successfully tested in the general aviation sector, which includes all civil aviation operations other than scheduled air services, as well as by general aircraft including helicopters and private jets.

"We are promoting the Beidou system up to the standards of International Civil Aviation Organization [ICAO], and will gradually apply it to carriers," Li said.

Currently there are four satellite navigation systems in the world, the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and Russian GLONASS, as well as the European Galileo and Beidou, which are still being developed.