Xi sends congratulatory letter to 1st int'l summit on BDS applications

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday sent a congratulatory letter to the First International Summit on BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) Applications, which was held in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province.

In his letter, Xi noted that with the rapid development of global digitalization, spatiotemporal information as well as positioning and navigation services have become important new infrastructures.

"Since I announced the commissioning of the BDS-3 global navigation satellite system in July last year, the BDS has been put into use in more than half of the countries and regions in the world," he said, adding that the large-scale application of BDS has entered a critical stage of marketization, industrialization and internationalization.

Xi emphasized that the BDS has benefited the Chinese people as well as people around the world. China is committed to openness and integration, coordination and cooperation, compatibility and complementarity, and sharing. It is willing to work with all sides to promote the building of the BDS and the development of the BDS industry.

China is also willing to share the achievements of the BDS with all sides, promote the progress of the global satellite navigation industry, and make the BDS better serve the world and benefit humankind, he added.

The First International Summit on BDS Applications opened Thursday with the theme "BDS serves the world, application fuels the future."