China and several Central Asian countries have signed a “tech cooperation agreement” to develop a satellite constellation to share remote-sensing data and tackle common geological threats, such as earthquakes, agricultural pests, and glacial floods, state media reported on Saturday.
The agreement was signed on Thursday at the ongoing ninth China-Eurasia Expo in Urumqi, the capital of China’s northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Beijing-based Xinhua News reported.
Scientists from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan attended the signing ceremony, expressing confidence that the joint project would bring mutual benefits.
The space-based monitoring network, dubbed “Tianwu Constellation,” will consist of an initial system of five satellites.
Tong Qingxi, a remote-sensing specialist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said China’s Xinjiang, which borders several Central Asian countries, has geographic conditions and geological threats similar to those of its neighbors, such as earthquakes, landslides, and floods caused by glacial melt.
“It is a practical application of the Belt and Road cooperation and a shared effort to build a community with a shared future for humanity,” Tong was quoted by the news agency as saying.
The satellite data collected over the region will be processed by a computing center in Xinjiang, where artificial intelligence (AI) models will be developed for geological disaster prediction, agricultural pest detection, and glacial melt monitoring.
Akobir Mirzorakhimzoda, vice president of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, said that mastering advanced technologies such as satellite networking and AI enables real-time monitoring and analysis of environmental indicators, providing a reliable basis for informed decision-making.