The Galileo satellite navigational system, produced by the
European Union (EU) and a rival to the reigning global positioning
system (GPS) of the United States, is expected to be operational in
China in 2008.
The 30-satellite system, with a navigational fix accurate to
within one meter, will provide safe, reliable and accurate
information for Chinese users in the fields of civil aviation,
railway, waterway and road transportation, according to a Sino-EU
technology cooperation symposium in Nanjing, capital of east
China's Jiangsu Province.
China officially joined the project in 2004 and invested 200
million euros in a Galileo training and application research center
at Southeast University in Nanjing.
The center carried out research on the satellite receiver, chips
and communication system and provided scientific training for the
Galileo project, said Li Jianqing, head of the technology
department of the university.
The EU and the European Space Agency kicked off the 3.5
billion-euro Galileo project in March 2002 to develop a
satellite-navigation system independent of the US monopoly of
GPS.
Unlike the military-managed GPS the Galileo project will remain
under civilian control and increase the EU's strategic
independence.
Israel, India and South Korea have also joined the Galileo
project.
(Xinhua News Agency December 7, 2006)