China will deepen its cooperation with ASEAN countries over Beidou Satellite Navigation System, a domestic Chinese rival to GPS, enhancing its application and service ability in Southeast Asia, China News Service reported Sunday.
"According to the plan, the Beidou system will extend its reach into countries along the route of the Belt and Road Initiative by 2018 and have worldwide coverage by 2020. The system belongs to China, but it also belongs to the whole world. We are willing to cooperate with other nations to advance the application of Beidou, especially with ASEAN countries," Ma Jiaqing, deputy director of Beidou Navigation Satellite Administration of China told reporters at China-ASEAN Information Harbor Forum held in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Beidou was designed and developed independently by China and is expected to serve global customers upon its completion in 2020.
Promoting the international usage of Beidou is part of the country's the Road and Belt Initiative. China has been cooperating with countries and regions along the Belt and Road routes, as a springboard for promoting this homegrown system across the globe.
According to Ma, key components of the Beidou system such as chips and antenna have reached international standards.
With smaller size and better function, the second-generation Beidou will be produced by the end of the year.
Many ASEAN countries have participated in the research and development of applications for the Beidou system, including Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Currently there are four global satellite navigation systems - the US-developed GPS, also the most widely used navigation system, China's Beidou, the EU's Galileo and Russia's Glonass.
