China makes headway in race for space technology domination

Satellite communications technology is the crown jewel of China's high-tech development, and it has played a vital role in connecting the country with the rest of the world.

A team of about 500 engineers from the China Academy of Space Technology, with an average age of just 33, forms the backbone of design, research and application for China's satellite communications technology, which is used in commercial and mobile communications, broadcast and data transfer, among many other things.

The team, which was established in 2000 for innovation purposes and is headed by Zhou Zhicheng, has overcome the dominance of overseas technologies and developed the Dong Fang Hong 4 large-scale communications satellite platform in a little more than six years.