China's space agency announced plans on June 30 to build a combined ground-and-space asteroid early-warning network for near-Earth object detection. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) is studying feasibility for a full planetary defense system, with Li Mingtao, chief scientist at CNSA's Asteroid Monitoring and Early Warning Research Center, stating that while no asteroid has been confirmed to threaten Earth soon, many objects remain undetected. The effort addresses a real gap: only about 45% of potentially civilization-threatening asteroids in the 140-meter class have been detected, compared to over 95% of larger kilometer-wide objects.
Recent papers by Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar program, and UN presentations detail four candidate orbital positions for the space-based segment: Sun-Earth L1, Earth-leading or trailing orbits, a Venus-like heliocentric path, and a distant retrograde orbit. A basic configuration would place a single satellite at L1 paired with ground stations; an extended model would add spacecraft across all four positions. China's 15th Five-Year Plan, approved in March, confirms an asteroid defense engineering project is under study, alongside development of a kinetic-impact demonstration mission launching in 2027. Asteroid researcher Anne Virkki noted that China's plans could supplement NASA and ESA missions to L1, but stressed the importance of international data sharing and open collaboration to avoid redundancy.