Cargo surveillance: China developing high-tech weapon in trade wars
Chinese military researchers tested a new satellite system capable of monitoring global supply chains using the Internet of Things. Based on a constellation of 66 small satellites, it aims to strengthen the Belt and Road Initiative and “enforce our own rules”. This is raising concerns in Washington, resulting in the exclusion of Chinese-made cranes from US ports.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – In the global game to control supply chains, China appears to a new card up its sleeve, a system capable of tracking hundreds of millions of containers around the world. The technology was developed by researchers in the Chinese military, exploiting the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT).
An article published in the latest issue of the Journal of NUDT, a publication of the National University of Defence Technology (NUDT) in Changsha, says that recent experiments show that China can collect real-time data about location and internal conditions, as well as tamper alerts.
The technology is centred on the Tiantuo-5 satellite, launched by the People's Republic of China in 2020.
If built, the network of satellites could become a cornerstone for Beijing's strategy to curb smuggling, by identifying for example, shipments of restricted goods through third countries, while at the same time offering an unprecedented visibility into global trade flows.
“This isn’t just about catching smugglers,” says a Beijing-based logistics expert cited by the South China Morning Post. “It’s about creating a system to enforce our own rules and break the chains imposed on developing nations for over a century. This is a space-based technology revolution.”
The system devised by the team led by Li Songting and Chen Lihu, associate professors at NUDT's Faculty of Aerospace Science and Engineering, is based on a constellation of 66 low-cost nanosatellites, each smaller than a refrigerator.
One of the main innovations is a hybrid network that separates slower "static" sensors, such as those on containers in ports, from sensors on fast-moving items. By using distinct signal protocols, data collisions can be avoided.
The researchers introduced military-level efficiency into the project, borrowing techniques from China’s missile tracking systems to process 10 times more data streams than commercial satellites such as Iridium.
The sensors can detect when a container is opened halfway through the journey or exposed to abnormal temperatures.
According to the article, during a test a single satellite picked up and analysed more than one million messages emitted by ships in a single day.
According to Li and Chen, this technology can also help China's Belt and Road Initiative, integrating infrastructure projects with data control.
Chinese researchers insist on the system's peaceful aims, but US officials and political leaders are already weary.
As a result, Washington recently banned the use of Chinese equipment, such as cranes, in its ports, fearing they might collect and transmit data to China.
If China deploys the entire constellation of 66 satellites, as planned, it would become the first country to use an IoT network to track hundreds of millions of cargo containers at end points.
The US Orbcomm system, already in service, can only connect 10 million devices, while SpaceX's Starlink focuses on high-speed Internet connection rather than industrial data transmission.
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