Concrete involvement of Chinese Industries in the Galileo Programme, with the signing of three contracts in Beijing (link)

Brussels, 28 Jul 2005

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Concrete Involvement of Chinese industries in the Galileo Programme - Three Contracts Signed Today Chinese participation in Galileo entered a practical stage, with the signature of three contracts by Chinese entities represented by China Galileo Industries.

With these contracts finalised, the Chinese industry is now actively involved in the development phase of the Galileo Programme - the European Satellite Navigation Programme with global availability. The signing ceremony gathered together Prof. MA Songde, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, Mr. Rainer Grohe, Executive Director of the Galileo Joint Undertaking (GJU), and Mr. ZHANG Guocheng, Executive Director of the National Remote Sensing Centre of China (NRSCC).

Prof. Ma and Mr. Zhang expressed their high appreciation about this successful development. "The signature of these three contracts is a further important step in the involvement of Chinese entities in the Galileo programme. Further contracts are being prepared and will be signed in the near future." Rainer Grohe, Executive Director of the GJU, "Today we have entered a new phase, it is true to say that the signature of the contracts could not have been possible without strong collaboration between the NRSCC and the GJU. Chinese entities are now actively working in the development of the Galileo System.

These three contracts are just the first; we intend to sign others in the near future". The GJU was set up in 2002 by the European Union (EU) and European Space Agency (ESA) to manage the development phase of Galileo. The National Remote Sensing Center of China (NRSCC) is responsible for the implementation of the Galileo Programme in China. The NRSCC became a member of the GJU in October 2004, subsequent to that, the Chinese side committed EUR 200 million to the Galileo Programme, EUR 70 million of which, to support the Chinese participation in the development phase and EUR 130 for the deployment phase. Since April 2005, three Chinese experts have joined the GJU office in Brussels. In accordance with the GJU-NRSCC Agreement, the industrial contracts will be managed by the NRSCC with support from the GJU.

The three projects, which are complementing GJU activities deal specifically with applications and include - Fishery Applications System, Special Ionospheric Studies for Galileo Regional Augmentation Services and Location Based Services Standardisation. Another project, called "China Galileo Test Range" which will develop test – and certification possibilities for in-door and out-door applications and equipment is currently being evaluated.

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