China donates Beidou satellite model to UN

VIENNA - A model of China's Beidou navigation satellite was donated to the Space Exhibit of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) here on Friday.

Beidou is the Chinese name for a constellation which people around the world had relied on for direction for thousands of years, said Cheng Jingye, China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Vienna, in the donation ceremony.

The Chinese people give this name to their own navigation satellite system, hoping the system can provide service to people all over the world, he said.

UNOOSA Director Mazlan Othman, who also attended the ceremony, congratulated China for the fast development and great achievements of its space program.

She said that the donation of the 1/8 scale model is of profound significance for increasing the influence of the Beidou system on the world stage.

Beidou satellite navigation system has become one of the world's four core system suppliers and has the uniqueness of combining navigation and telecommunication together, a function not possessed by the other three systems in the world, said Director of China Satellite Navigation Office Ran Chengqi.

Beidou system will start to provide comprehensive services, including navigation, positioning, mapping and time service, to clients in the Asian and Pacific region at the end of this year, he said.