[Report]
On 9 March 2021, the Science, Technology and Innovation Governance (STIG) Program of The University of Tokyo held an international workshop titled “New Space in Asia: Implications of the Rise of the Chinese Commercial Space Sector in Asia and Beyond”. Co-hosted by the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) at the occasion of the publication of public report titled “New Space in Asia – Experts views on space policy and business trends in Asian countries”, this workshop proposed a detailed overview of the mutations currently happening in the Asian commercial space sector, with a specific focus on the People’s Republic of China. After two keynotes on ‘New Space in Asia’ and ‘New Space in China’ by, respectively, Marco Aliberti of ESPI and Blaine Curcio of Orbital Gateway Consulting, Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan of the Observer Research Foundation and Kazuto Suzuki of the University of Tokyo provided the perspectives of Japan and India. Thank to the multifaceted expertise of the panelists, the workshop presented a complex overview of the rise of the Asian commercial space sector from both business and security perspectives.
Click here to watch the recording.
[Overview]In recent years, the People’s Republic of China has seen the emergence of a vibrant commercial space industrial ecosystem. Based on the complex interactions of a variety of stakeholders (institutional actors, state-owned enterprises, non-space industries, start-ups and investors), the Chinese space sector has undergone deep transformations: there are now more than 100 major space start-ups in the country covering all aspect of space technology development and utilization, private investment rules have been changed leading to a great diversification of investors profiles, provincial governments are developing strong poles of competitiveness for the space industry, etc.
Following the publication of the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI)’s latest report “New Space in Asia – Experts views on space policy and business trends in Asian countries”, the Science, Technology and Innovation Governance (STIG) program of The University of Tokyo will organize a special workshop on “New Space in China”, co-hosted by ESPI. The first keynote, delivered by Marco Aliberti, senior researcher at ESPI, will present the main takeaways of the report. Then, Blaine Curcio, founder of Orbital Gateway Consulting and world leading analyst of the Chinese space sector, will provide in the second keynote a precise overview of the recent evolutions of the Chinese commercial space ecosystem. The two experts will then be joined by Dr Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Distinguished Fellow & Head, Nuclear & Space Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation, and Professor Kazuto Suzuki of Graduate School of Public Policy of The University of Tokyo) for a panel discussion on the implications for Asia and the World of the rise of a powerful New Space sector in China.
Date & Time: Tuesday 9 March 2021, 17:30-19:00 (JST: Japan Standard Time)
Venue: Online Zoom Webinar
–> Registration Form: Webinar access information will be sent to the registrants before the event.
Language: English (with Japanese simultaneous interpretation)
Registration fee: Free
Host: Science, Technology and Innovation Governance (STIG) Program, GraSPP, The University of Tokyo
Co-host: European Space Policy Institute (ESPI)
—–PROGRAM—–
General moderator: Dr Quentin Verspieren, Project Researcher, STIG Program, GraSPP, The University of Tokyo
Opening remarks:
Professor Hideaki Shiroyama, Director, STIG Program/Professor, GraSPP and Graduate Schools for Law and Politics, The University of Tokyo
KEYNOTE 1: New Space in Asia (15 min)
Marco Aliberti, Senior Research Fellow, ESPI
KEYNOTE 2: New Space in China (15 min)
Blaine Curcio, Founder, Orbital Gateway Consulting
Panel Discussion: Implications for Asia and the World (45 min)
Dr Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Distinguished Fellow & Head, Nuclear & Space Policy Initiative, Observer Research Foundation
Blaine Curcio, Founder, Orbital Gateway Consulting
Professor Kazuto Suzuki, GraSPP, The University of Tokyo
Marco Aliberti, ESPI
Wrap-up & Closing remarks:
Professor Hideaki Shiroyama
Speakers, panelists and moderator’s BIO
Marco Aliberti
Marco Aliberti works as Senior Research Fellow at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) in Vienna, Austria, where he has carried out and published a number of research projects in the areas of access to space and human spaceflight, governance and International Relations of space, and Asia’s space programmes, particularly those of China, Japan and India. He is also a member of the Space Power and Policy Applied Research Consortium (SPPARC) at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia. Prior to joining ESPI in October 2012, he had positions consistent with his academic background in East Asian Studies. Mr Aliberti graduated in Oriental Languages and Cultures at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, and obtained a MA in International Relations from the Italian Diplomatic Academy (SIOI) in Rome. He also completed a Master of Advanced Studies in Space Policy and Institutions with the Italian Space Agency and the National Research Council as well as Security Studies at the Institute of Global Studies – School of Government, also in Rome. He is the author of five books on space policy and politics, including the monograph “When China Goes to the Moon…”.
Blaine Curcio
Blaine Curcio is a consultant and analyst specializing in the space and aerospace industries, particularly in regard to China. Blaine is the Founder of Hong Kong-based Orbital Gateway Consulting, and is Affiliate Senior Consultant for Euroconsult. Blaine is a contributor to GoTaikonauts!, as well as the co-founder of the Dongfang Hour, a podcast focused on the Chinese space and aerospace industries. Blaine holds an MBA degree from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and a BSc from Illinois State University.
Rajeswari (Raji) Pillai Rajagopalan
Dr. Rajeswari (Raji) Pillai Rajagopalan is a Distinguished Fellow and heads the Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation. She is also a Non-Resident Indo-Pacific Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre from April-December 2020. She was also the Technical Advisor to a new United Nations Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Prevention of Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) (July 2018-July 2019). As a senior Asia defence writer for The Diplomat, she writes a weekly column on Asian strategic issues. Dr. Rajagopalan joined ORF after a five-year stint at the National Security Council Secretariat (2003-2007), Government of India, where she was an Assistant Director. Prior to joining the NSCS, she was Research Officer at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. She was also a Visiting Professor at the Graduate Institute of International Politics, National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan in 2012. She has authored or edited nine books including Global Nuclear Security: Moving Beyond the NSS (2018), Space Policy 2.0 (2017), Nuclear Security in India (2015), Clashing Titans: Military Strategy and Insecurity among Asian Great Powers (2012), The Dragon’s Fire: Chinese Military Strategy and Its Implications for Asia (2009). She has published research essays in edited volumes, and in peer reviewed journals such as India Review, Strategic Studies Quarterly, Air and Space Power Journal, International Journal of Nuclear Law and Strategic Analysis. She has also contributed essays to newspapers such as The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Times of India, and The Economic Times. She has been invited to speak at international fora including the United Nations Disarmament Forum (New York), the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) (Vienna), Conference on Disarmament (Geneva), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the European Union.
Dr. Rajagopalan tweets @raji143 and maintains a personal blog: http://securitystrategyrajagopalan.blogspot.com/
Kazuto Suzuki
Kazuto Suzuki is Professor of Science and Technology Policy at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo, Japan. He graduated Department of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, and received Ph.D. from Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex, England. He has worked in the Fondation pour la recherche stratégique in Paris, France as assistant researcher and Associate Professor at the University of Tsukuba from 2000 to 2008 and served as Professor of International Politics at Hokkaido University until 2020. He also spent one year at School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University from 2012 to 2013 as visiting researcher. He served as an expert in the Panel of Experts for Iranian Sanction Committee under the United Nations Security Council from 2013 to July 2015. He has been the President of Japan Association of International Security and Trade. His research focuses on the conjunction of science/technology and international relations; subjects including space policy, non-proliferation, export control and sanctions. His recent work includes Space and International Politics (2011, in Japanese, awarded Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities), Policy Logics and Institutions of European Space Collaboration (2003) and many others.
Hideaki Shiroyama
Hideaki Shiroyama is a professor of public administration at the Graduate School of Public Policy and the Graduate School for Law and Politics, The University of Tokyo. He studies about global governance/ international administration, science/ technology and public policy and policy process. He was the Dean of the Graduate School of Public Policy from 2014 to 2016 and the Director of Policy Alternatives Research Institute from 2010 to 2014. He was also a Visiting Scholar at MIT from 1997 to 1999 and Visiting Professor at Science Po from 2008 to 2009. He is currently working on interdisciplinary program as the Director of Science, Technology, Innovation and Governance Program and the Coordinator of Graduate Program for Social Design and Management. He also served as the Chairman of the Planning Committee of New Initiatives for Humanities and Social Sciences Program at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science from 2003-2008, as President of the PI forum, an NPO for consensus building in Japan from 2006-2008 and as a member of various government advisory councils on higher education, nuclear safety, food safety, fire protection, scenarios for climate mitigation, industrial policy and space.
Quentin Verspieren
Quentin Verspieren is researcher at the Science, Technology, and Innovation Governance (STIG) program of the Graduate School of Public Policy, The University of Tokyo. He primarily works on space policymaking and technology development in developing countries, and on international regime-making for space safety and sustainability. Dr Verspieren has two master’s degrees in aerospace engineering (ISAE-SUPAERO and The University of Tokyo) and a Ph.D. in public policy (The University of Tokyo). He is also an associate research fellow at the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) in Vienna, Austria, a fellow at the Japan Space Forum in Tokyo, Japan, and he holds consultancy positions with the Japanese government and Japanese space ventures.
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Contact & Inquiries:
Science, Technology and Innovation Governance (STIG) Program
STIG@pp.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Graduate School of Public Policy (GraSPP)
The University of Tokyo