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China's Rival to GPS Navigation Carries Big Risks

John Xie

   After more than 20 years of effort, China completed its satellite
   navigation system last Tuesday when the last of BeiDou's 35 satellites
   reached geostationary orbit.

   China's domestically developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System,
   designed to rival the U.S.-owned Global Positioning System (GPS), is
   now offering worldwide coverage, allowing global users to access its
   high-accuracy positioning, navigation and timing services, which are
   vital to the modern economy.

   China's state media claims the system, formally initiated in 1994, is
   now being used by more than half of the world's countries, and that its
   navigation products have been exported to more than 120 countries.

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