In the early hours of a recent Monday morning, Beijing time, an image was transmitted from 400 kilometres above the earth. Inside the Tiangong space station, six astronauts from the Shenzhou-21 and Shenzhou-23 missions posed for China’s eighth group portrait in space. Among them was Lai Ka-ying, a payload specialist from Hong Kong, China, with the bauhinia emblem on her mission badge. To many, this was a moment of national pride. To geopolitical observers and the Global South, it symbolized the emergence of a more inclusive international order in outer space.
This moment was more than a crew handover. It marked a historic transformation. Two decades after being excluded from cooperation on the International Space Station (ISS), China has not only built its own fully independent space station but will also maintain the only permanent human outpost in space when the ISS is deorbited in 2030.
For Africa and the developing world, China’s space journey offers a vital lesson in technological sovereignty in the 21st century: Dependency leads to exclusion. Self-reliance opens doors to cooperation.
In the early 2000s, as the ISS operated, China faced strict restrictions on international space cooperation. Rather than compromising its strategic goals, China chose independent research and development.
Denied access to key technologies, China developed its own experimental space modules and eventually the multi-module Tiangong space station in 2022. Today, Tiangong runs on 100 percent indigenous technology, including life support, docking systems, and robotic arms.
Western miscalculations turned containment into motivation. China learned that in global cooperation, true partnership requires mutual respect and sovereign equality.
The 2030 tipping point: A new era in space
The ISS is an engineering achievement but also a product of past geopolitical structures. Due to structural aging and operational costs, it will be decommissioned in 2030.
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Commercial space stations are under development but remain small, costly, and profit-driven, making them unsuitable for large-scale international scientific projects. By contrast, China’s Tiangong operates as a national laboratory open to the world. It has already hosted experiments from 17 countries across the globe.
For Africa and the Global South, this reality is clear: After 2030, China will be the most reliable partner for microgravity research, astronaut training, and space payload missions.
A blueprint for the Global South: Sovereignty first, integration second
Many African nations have long relied on a donor-recipient model for infrastructure and technology. China’s space experience breaks this illusion.
Lesson 1: True partnership begins with self-reliance.
Just as China developed its own rockets and space systems when excluded, Africa must build its own technological ecosystems to escape unfair restrictions.
Lesson 2: Win-win cooperation requires two-way mutual benefit.
China’s space program emphasises technology sharing, skills training, and capacity building. African countries engaging in projects such as the International Lunar Research Station should pursue local assembly, education, and technology transfer.
Why Africa must engage now
The window for affordable, equitable space access is narrowing. After 2030, demand for access to Tiangong will rise sharply.
Strategic benefits for Africa:
1. BRICS+ Space Cooperation: Space collaboration is becoming a pillar of multi-polar, de-dollarized global cooperation.
2. Practical Down-to-Earth Technologies: Space systems support water purification, agricultural forecasting, and disaster communications — essential tools for development.
3. Affordability: China’s state-supported model offers more accessible terms for developing nations compared with expensive commercial alternatives.
A More Inclusive Space Order Has Arrived
The selection of Pakistani astronauts for Tiangong missions signals that non-Western, inclusive space pathways are open.
While some countries emphasize abstract rules in space, China is building practical infrastructure. While some debate theoretical norms, China is conducting joint satellite missions with partners including the European Space Agency.
The retirement of the ISS in 2030 is not a crisis — it is a liberation from the era of space monopoly.
China’s space programme is not about dominance. It is about sovereignty, openness, and mutual benefit. The United States built structures that excluded others; China built Tiangong to welcome partners that respect sovereign equality.
For Africa and the Global South, the path is clear:
1. Reject dependency and pursue self-strengthening.
2. Invest in STEM education to build long-term capacity.
3. Engage with China’s space program early through official cooperation channels.
When the ISS retires in 2030, the Global South should not be spectators — but participants.
China has proven that the most reliable launchpad is self-built capability. Now it is offering partnership. The wise choice is to join.
*Saxon Zvina is a principal consultant at Skyworld Consultancy Services.
Member of Belt and Road Initiative Think Tank
Email: [email protected] | X: @saxonzvina2
