Can Hong Kong hitch a ride on China’s commercial aerospace wave?

China’s 15th five-year plan is about to make commercial aerospace a mainstream pillar of national development, and Hong Kong cannot afford to miss this opportunity. Whether the city can translate this national push into concrete local strengths will become a test of its ability to integrate with – and contribute to – China’s next wave of strategic industries.

Commercial aerospace has moved to a full-scale strategic policy in just a few years, sitting at the intersection of satellites, communications, big data and artificial intelligence (AI). Beijing has already signalled that aviation and aerospace, together with the low-altitude economy, will be nurtured as “emerging pillar industries” and integrated with other future technologies such as quantum and 6G in the next five years.

The US-Iran war underlines how commercial space has become embedded in modern conflict, with private firms such as Planet Labs providing high-resolution imagery that informs real-time targeting, battle damage assessment and public accountability. These satellites are dual-use by design: the same constellations that support logistics, timing and financial transactions can also help militaries plan strikes, exposing how deeply space infrastructure underpins both civilian life and security operations.