Xi unveils Beidou full-scale coverage

Third-generation satellite system begins operations around globe in a scientific feat

President Xi Jinping announced on Friday that China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System has been completed and has started providing full-scale global services that day.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, declared the commissioning of the global navigation and positioning system's third-generation network at a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

General Zhang Youxia, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, read a congratulatory letter at the ceremony on behalf of the CPC Central Committee, the State Council and the top military commission, calling the commissioning of Beidou's full-scale global service a significant milestone in China's efforts to boost science and technology and strengthen its space industry.