The release of “China’s Position on Strengthening Outer Space Governance”, at the 2026 Global Governance Forum in Xiong’an, Hebei province, late last month, represented a key moment for the global space sector. China’s crystal clear official statements on space sustainability are as welcome as they are far-reaching and globally important.
Fundamentally, China’s stated emphasis is highly international in scope, outlook, and intent, featuring direct calls for global regulation, respect, and reform centered on the United Nations. The international community has leaned heavily on a decaying legal framework established during the Cold War, and that is now increasingly unfit to handle the explosive growth of the modern low Earth orbit (LEO) environment and rapidly changing international dynamics. The world faces a dual crisis that has emerged over the last 10 years: clear, increasing divergence in nations’ space capabilities, together with an alarming escalation in risks. These risks stem from the potential militarization of outer space and the existential threat to LEO from rapidly accumulating space debris, coupled with the massive increase in satellites being placed in LEO. These issues have serious implications for our shared celestial commons.
The international “mood music” increasingly calls for an action-oriented approach to space sustainability, space traffic management, space situational awareness, and active debris remediation and mitigation. However, to tackle these vital issues effectively, it’s vital to address fundamental questions of responsibility acceptance, serious resource allocation, key data-sharing programs, and real international cooperative action. This is needed more than ever just as risks escalate and trust falls.
Resolving these apparent fundamental incompatibilities is imperative if real progress is to be made. So where does Hong Kong stand in all this, and does the city even have a useful role to play?
As observers of the quiet revolution within the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s space science community know, it is clear that the emerging trillion-US-dollar NewSpace economy is still not in the mainstream consciousness of local decision-makers, financial architects, entrepreneurs, investment gurus, and family offices. From the recently announced Policy Address and Hong Kong’s first five-year plan, it is clear the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is getting the message. However, these stakeholders must urgently come together for more focused, coordinated action to build on Xiong’an’s strong messaging and effectively use the city’s innate strengths as a “condensed, connectivity conduit (CCC)”.
The official Xiong’an announcements provide a clear policy signal for Hong Kong to mobilize its globally respected and unique institutional, financial, and legal strengths under the “one country, two systems” framework to become an indispensable global hub for the space economy.
Looking at the ability to turn the basic principles of the just-announced Xiong’an paper into practical technological solutions, there are reasons for optimism. Hong Kong’s higher education sector is already elite in global metrics. The city has the talent, educational infrastructure, foundational science capacity, and international connectivity to make a real difference. What it still lacks is an effective coordinated approach to our emerging policy framework. Hong Kong’s globally elite universities and institutes cannot operate in a vacuum. To avoid missing these opportunities, the government must move beyond enthusiastic observation.
Some positive steps have been taken recently, but the SAR still urgently needs a dedicated, centralized Hong Kong Space Office. This is a matter often discussed and universally supported by relevant local stakeholders, but it is still awaiting implementation. A specialized aerospace innovation fund under the Innovation and Technology Support Programme seems to be on the cards, and this is very welcome and should be matched with an aggressive policy to attract Chinese mainland NewSpace firms eager to connect with the global market via the city’s CCC capabilities.
An exceptional component of the Xiong’an position paper lies in its clear emphasis on regulating commercial space activities and establishing domestic frameworks to govern international liability and private space actors. This is where Hong Kong’s true qualities as a premium international fintech and legal hub can be unleashed. The space economy cannot function without capital, and it certainly cannot scale without robust risk mitigation. Commercializing LEO requires massive private investment, but the financial community remains deeply cautious about risks ranging from rocket launch failures to orbital kinetic collisions with space debris.
Hong Kong should and can position itself as the global capital for NewSpace insurance underwriting and space finance, partnering with London where advantageous and practical. By crafting clear regulatory guidelines, Hong Kong can pioneer specialized insurance products tailored explicitly to space sustainability. For example, the city can create innovative insurance policies that offer lower premiums to satellite operators who embed compliant, end-of-life de-orbiting mechanisms into their hardware.
Furthermore, Hong Kong’s world-class debt markets are perfectly positioned to issue “Space Debris Removal Insurance Bonds”, which are financial tools introduced by Professor Michael Mainelli, the 695th Lord Mayor of London, as part of the Space Protection Initiative he launched in 2023. His proposal is to require operators to purchase “surety bonds” before launch from a commercial insurer guaranteeing the removal of operational equipment from space after its useful life. These could fund private debris-removal consortia aligned with global concerns about the urgent environmental and sustainability priorities needed to preserve the LEO environment for all countries. On the regulatory side, when disputes arise over international liability, orbital slot and satellite communication frequency allocations, or even cross-border commercial space contracts, Hong Kong’s common law courts and international arbitration centers offer an unparalleled, globally trusted environment for resolution. Hong Kong has what it takes.
The global space economy is predicted to be worth more than $1.5 trillion by 2035. Neighboring jurisdictions like Singapore are moving aggressively to capture this market by establishing well-funded, well-resourced space agencies and specialized regulatory regimes. Hong Kong should not allow itself to fall behind out of inertia or a lack of imagination, especially given the very strong hand we have at our disposal. The interest in the mainland’s booming commercial space sector is real, and the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit has already begun exploring the nexus between aerospace development and the low-altitude economy.
Xiong’an has laid out a clear blueprint, and Hong Kong’s universities stand ready. It is time for Hong Kong’s policymakers and financial leaders to wake up to the NewSpace revolution, and secure the city’s place in the NewSpace economy.
The author is a professor emeritus at the University of Hong Kong, CEO and co-founder of NGO S3+1, and CEO and founder of Feilong Aerospace & Technology Ltd.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
