China's quest to become a space power runs through Silk Road city

Automaker Geely drives Xi's dream of rivaling US across the cosmos

20200622N Geely satellite

Chinese automaker Geely has turned its eyes to a new frontier: space. (Photo courtesy of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group)

SHUNSUKE TABETA, Nikkei staff writer

BEIJING -- Once a prosperous oasis city on the Silk Road, Korla in China's westernmost region of Xinjiang last month became home to what looks like a huge white golf ball floating on its horizon.

The structure was built by GeeSpace, a subsidiary of China's top privately owned automaker, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Its mission: to receive signals from and remotely control satellites in orbit.

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