On August 26, the official government new media account of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, “Industry Micro Report”, published an article stating that in recent years, the application of the Beidou system has expanded both in breadth and depth across various industries. The comprehensive application penetration rate in key industries is approximately 90%.
It is understood that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will officially launch pilot projects for the widespread use of Beidou in 2024. As of the first half of this year, a total of over 12 million units (sets) of Beidou-based positioning devices have been promoted in 39 cities. Among these, over 7.2 million units (sets) are used in the consumer sector, over 4.6 million units (sets) in the industrial manufacturing sector, and over 1 million units (sets) in the integrated innovation sector. From January to June this year, 2.96 million units (sets) of Beidou-based positioning devices were added in various sectors in 39 cities, representing an increase of about 30% compared to the previous year. Many cities have achieved 100% adoption of Beidou in specific sectors such as shared two-wheelers, taxis, government vehicles, and agricultural machinery.
According to Li Xia Yu, the Chief Engineer of the Technology and Standards Research Institute of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the number of Beidou devices in key industries has reached nearly 40 million units/set. The comprehensive application penetration rate in key industries is about 90%. Applications in industries such as transportation, public safety, and smart agriculture are continuing to deepen. At the same time, Beidou is rapidly entering the consumer sector. Beidou positioning has become a standard feature in consumer products such as smartphones, smart wearable devices, and vehicle-mounted terminals.
In the first half of 2026, the total number of mobile phones shipped in the domestic market reached 133 million units, with over 98% of these devices supporting Beidou positioning. As of the first half of 2026, the number of users utilizing Beidou short message services has exceeded 55 million. By the end of 2025, the cumulative shipments of domestic Beidou-compatible chips and modules reached nearly 2.6 billion units, and the total number of various Beidou-functionality devices in use across society exceeded 2.2 billion units (sets).
According to the website of the Beidou Satellite Navigation System, the Beidou system is a globally distributed satellite navigation system independently developed and operated by China. It is designed with national security and economic and social development needs in mind. It provides users around the world with all-weather, all-time, high-precision positioning, navigation, and timekeeping services. The Beidou system’s development has followed a Chinese-specific path of rapidly establishing service capabilities in regional areas and gradually expanding to global services, enriching the development model of the world's satellite navigation industry.
