Jiachang Chen
GEO PrincipalCSTECAsia/OceaniaMember since 16 Feb 2005
China
GEO Principals
Focal Points
Engagement History with GEO
- China is a founding member of GEO and has served as Co-Chair in the Executive Committee, representing Asia-Oceania interests in global governance since 2005.
- China is one of GEO's contributors and has supported the GEO Trust Fund with annual voluntary contributions.
- China has also provided substantial extra budgetary funding for capacity building programmes, hosting international workshops, and supporting developing country participation through South-South cooperation mechanisms. China has also assisted the Secretariat with second staff.
- The lead ministry that engages with GEO is the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) with the China Science and Technology Exchange Center (CSTEC) serving as the key focal point.
- Chinese participation in GEO involves an inter-ministerial mechanism including multiple government ministries and institutions including:
- China Meteorological Administration (CMA)
- China National Space Administration (CNSA)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
- Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR)
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)
- National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)
- Ministry of Education o Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE)
- Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ministry of Water Resources Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM)
- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA)
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration
Participation in GEO Work Programme 2025 Onwards
China actively participates in several GEO Work Programme activities, with a focus on disaster risk reduction, agricultural monitoring, water and land sustainability, and water resources management.
China plays a co-leading role in the GEO Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEOGLAM) flagship, significantly advancing global crop monitoring capabilities for food security and agricultural drought early warning. Through the CropWatch Cloud developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China supports near-real-time crop assessments worldwide, substantially improving transparency in crop production information. A cornerstone of China's contribution is its extensive capacity-building initiatives across 26 countries, particularly in Africa and Asia, where it conducts technical training workshops and provides customized system to enable independent crop monitoring capabilities. This empowerment enables participating nations to produce their own independent crop monitoring reports, reducing reliance on external sources and enhancing local decision-making. Moreover, CropWatch offers over 60 APIs, allowing users to access and customize crop monitoring services by reducing technical and financial constraints. This approach democratizes advanced technology by providing modular, scalable tools that support everything from local farming communities to national ministries, thereby bridging the digital divide and fostering equitable access. These efforts collectively strengthen global food security, advance the "Zero Hunger" goal, and align with the Early Warnings for All initiative by building resilient, self-sustaining crop monitoring systems worldwide.
China also leads GEO-PDRS initiative. Coordinated by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) with support from FAO, GBIF, CABI et al., GEO-PDRS develops a scalable framework for dynamic monitoring, risk analysis, and early warning of major vegetation pests and diseases. By integrating multi-source remote sensing with AI-driven models, the initiative targets over 85% accuracy in habitat monitoring and provides warnings at least ten days in advance. Its open data, user tools, and softwares enhance food security, reduce pesticide dependence, and protect biodiversity, directly supporting SDG 2, SDG 13, and the Sendai Framework.
China also plays a leading role in Night-Light initiative, which plans to provide four types of public products to global users using night-time light remote sensing technology which is an efficient way to record human activities from outer space. These products are Humanitarian Disaster Evaluation Report, Light Pollution Map and Evaluation Report, Wealth Index Map, Urban Living Condition Report. The products will support ground operations to achieve SDGs by connecting GEO participants, users and stakeholders. The initiative is led by Wuhan University and other research institutions.
China also engages in GEO Cold Regions Initiative (GEOCRI) strengthening monitoring in snow, ice, and permafrost environments, led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) with contributions from its meteorological agency (CMA). In addition, China participates in the Human Planet Initiative (HPI), enhancing global exposure and vulnerability mapping. Further underscoring its leadership, a prominent Chinese expert is a co-chair the Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience (DRRA) Working Group leading efforts to highlight the critical DRR-Climate-Biodiversity nexus and integrate Earth observations across multiple risk domains.
Role of Private Sector in GEO
China through China GEO, promotes public-private partnerships and the involvement of the private sector to foster EO solutions, and achieve Earth Intelligence for All.
China GEO encourages companies in the EO and related tech fields to participate in GEO activities, such as Global Forum, GEO Symposium, and other thematic workshops; this not only provides a platform for private-sector voices to be heard in GEO’s global dialogue but also fosters collaboration between private sector and GEO governance, and other stakeholders. And also, domestic companies who meet conditions are encouraged to join GEO community as associates, thus to formally participate in GEO’s cooperative mechanisms and contribute industry expertise to global EO initiatives. In addition, China has supported private sector in developing public goods under GEO framework, such as projects related to global environmental monitoring, climate resilience tools, and EO data service platforms, which would be shared on GEO platforms.
Participation in Regional Caucus - AOGEO
China is an active member and a Co-Chair within the AOGEO regional caucus and plays a critical role in coordinating regional EO activities. It plays a key role in regional capacity building and international cooperation through AOGEO by hosting major GEO events, like the AOGEO Workshops since 2019, covering areas such as spectral earth data fusion, global ecological and environmental monitoring, agricultural and food security, urban resilience, data sharing and regional capacity building.
Earth Observations Capabilities
China has developed comprehensive Earth observation capabilities, including:
- ChinaGEOSS Data Sharing Network (ChinaGEOSS DSNet) - A comprehensive national-level GEOSS infrastructures to integrate large number of archived satellite data, AI-ready data, scientific paper data and in-situ data. Facing the GEO engagement priorities, it provides more than 5300 datasets to international users through a unified data portal, ensuring easy and seamless access to a wide range of China’s Earth observation resources. It is also the main channel for domestic and international data exchanges, ChinaGEOSS completely shared 5.68 million data to GEOSS Portal from 2016 to 2024 and made a significant contribution to the implementation of AOGEO IPS project.
- CropWatch - provides open access to crop monitoring data and reports for over 160 countries, enabling nations to independently verify and utilize agricultural information. This transparency helps reduce market speculation and price volatility by supplying reliable, impartial data. By serving as a public platform that promotes equity, self-reliance, and accessible technology of crop monitoring, CropWatch helps narrow the agricultural digital divide by reducing technical and financial constraints and directly contributes to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- ETWatch - delivers accurate, spatially explicit estimates of evapotranspiration for user-defined regions, facilitating detailed assessment of water availability and consumption across multiple sectors and user groups. This capability enables more efficient water resource evaluation and optimized irrigation scheduling, particularly in drought-prone and water-scarce regions, thereby enhancing resilience and supporting sustainable water management.
- DroughtWatch - a specialized drought monitoring platform designed to empower local agencies and stakeholders to implement and maintain drought monitoring operations independently such as in Mongolia and other regional applications. DroughtWatch customization fosters a strong sense of user ownership, as local experts and institutions actively participate in system configuration, validation, and decision-making, creating a tailored and trusted tool that aligns with regional needs. DroughtWatch enhances adaptive capacity in the face of increasing climate variability.
- Collaborative network of Disaster Data Response (CDDR) - GEO China initiated the Collaborative Network of Disaster Data Response (CDDR) in 2016 in response to the GEO's call for global coordinated disaster risk reduction. The CDDR mechanism has a membership of 34 china's satellite agencies and 9 international organizations, which contributes to the implementation of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. As of 2024, it had integrated 30 high resolution optical, radar, and hyperspectral satelites to cope with 56 major disaster emergency events such as New Zealand earthquake, Thailand flood, Indonisia Iandslide, Nepal snow avalanche and Tonga volcanic eruption in 37 countries.
- Vegetation Pest and Disease Remote Sensing Monitoring and Forecasting System – An operational system that has produced continuous monitoring and forecasting products for 19 major crop pests and diseases across 38 countries. The system has significantly improved pest and disease forecasting efficiency, monitoring accuracy, and service effectiveness. It has been applied in countries such as Kenya, Somalia, Yemen, Ethiopia, Pakistan, India, and Nepal, supporting scientific prevention and control over more than 20 million hectares, effectively ensuring food security and regional stability.
- Disaster Monitoring Systems - Specialised systems including snow disaster monitoring for Mongolia and other regional application.
- GEOARC – The Ecosystem and Environment Observation Analysis Research Cooperation (GEOARC) has been carried out since. GEOARC has been continuously performing ecosystem and environment monitoring and analysis, producing easy-reading annual reports and user-oriented datasets. GEOARC devotes to support decision making, science research and capacity building on sustainable development, climate change, disaster risk reduction, urban resilience, etc., and to provide public goods for the international society, and the GEO members in particular.
National Policy Implementation Priorities
Development Cooperation Priorities
China's development cooperation priorities focus on:
- South-South Cooperation which focuses on providing technical assistance and capacity building to developing countries through Earth observation technologies
- Belt and Road Initiative Integration that focuses on food security and agricultural water security needs within the BRI framework countries
- Regional Sustainable Development that supports sustainable development through Earth observations in the Asia-Oceania region, with emphasis on Integrated Priority Study areas
- Capacity Building and Training, which aims to nurture young talent through international training programs and workshops
- Technology Transfer to share Earth observation technologies and expertise with other developing nations
- China demonstrates significant commitment to international training and capacity development through initiatives such as the International Training Workshop on Earth Observation for Sustainable Development in Developing Countries, which attracted over 570 young scholars from 37 countries across Asia, Europe, and the Americas in 2023.
Policy Priorities on Environment and Climate
China's key environmental policy priorities include:
- Sustainable Development Goals Implementation - Closely aligning Earth observation applications with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
- Food Security and Agriculture - Integrating artificial intelligence and cloud computing with Earth observation for food and water security
- Disaster Risk Reduction - Providing emergency response services and early warning systems for natural disasters • Ecological and Environmental Monitoring - Supporting global ecological monitoring and environmental assessment through advanced Earth observation technologies
- Climate Change Adaptation - Supporting climate adaptation efforts through comprehensive monitoring and assessment capabilities
- Water Resources Management - Developing advanced systems for water resource monitoring and management
Technical Cooperation Projects
China is actively engaged in various technical cooperation projects related to Earth observations that extend beyond the GEO Work Programme. These include:
- AOGEO Regional Training Programs - Comprehensive training initiatives focusing on glaciers, water resources, ecological environment, agricultural resources, and disaster monitoring in mountainous regions
- International Capacity Building Workshops - Annual training programs attracting hundreds of participants from dozens of countries across multiple continents
- Bilateral Technical Cooperation - System customisation and capacity building programs with countries including Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Mongolia
- Collaborative network of Disaster Data Response - International disaster response services providing critical Earth observation data for emergency situations
- Regional Monitoring Networks - Collaborative monitoring systems for the Himalayan-Hindu Kush and island regions, focusing on disaster reduction, urban and ecological monitoring
- Data Sharing Initiatives - Comprehensive data sharing through the ChinaGEOSS Data Sharing Network with international institutions and organisations
- The Dragon Programme is the cornerstone of Sino–European Earth observation cooperation. It represents a multi-decadal scientific partnership focused on remote sensing, technology exchange, and training—while individual projects (such as data-sharing under Copernicus or joint initiatives like PANDA) complement and extend the collaboration.
- CropWatch Innovative Cooperation Programme (CropWatch-ICP) leverages EO to enhance crop monitoring capacity and improve food security for developing countries. CropWatch-ICP prioritizes capacity building, open access, and local customization, for empowering developing nations to overcome technical and financial constraints on crop monitoring.
Statements
2026 GEO Symposium / GEO-21 Plenary
26-28 May 26Geneva, Switzerland
Full Statement 
GEO China Secretariat initiated the Collaborative Network of Disaster Data Response (CDDR) in 2016 in response to the GEO’s call for global coordinated disaster risk reduction. The CDDR mechanism has a membership of 34 China’s satellite agencies and 9 international Organizations, which contributes to the implementation of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. As of 2025, it had integrated 30 high resolution optical, radar, and hyperspectral satellites to cope with 73 major disaster emergency events such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions in 38 countries.
GAO Xiang geosec-china@cstec.org.cn
The Pengcheng Laboratory and the University of Hong Kong have jointly developed the world’s first 2000–2024 global 30m resolution low-dimensional embedding dataset (Embedded Seamless Data, ESD), which stands as the current low-dimensional embedding data product with the longest time series, highest level of lightweight design and optimal quality. Integrating multi-source massive observation data, this product achieves 340× efficient data compression and information-dense latent representations, and delivers outstanding performance in tasks such as land cover classification. It greatly reduces computational resource requirements, enabling decades-scale global data analysis to be completed on local workstations. Going forward, we will take a series of AI-Ready data products represented by ESD as the core, and provide high-quality and high-efficiency intelligent customized computing services through the Pengcheng Nebula Data Service Platform.
Wang Jie wangj@pcl.ac.cn
Based on the China Computing Network, we have established the Pengcheng Nebula Data Service Platform to deliver inclusive, efficient, and elastic intelligent customized computing services to GEO members through the World Computing Network Alliance. Centered on self-developed AI-Ready data products, including the ESD low-dimensional embedding dataset, the platform features an integrated system for multi-source information extraction, high-precision spatiotemporal calibration, and intelligent customized computing, significantly lowering the barrier to global-scale long time-series analysis. Over the next decade, the platform will continuously expand its service capabilities, providing a cumulative total of approximately 35 million core-hours of intelligent customized computing. This initiative will empower high-quality development in fields such as global change, ecological monitoring, and land resource management, supporting GEO in achieving its third-decade goal: “Earth Intelligence for All”.
Tian Geng tiang@pcl.ac.cn
Currently, China operates ten FengYun satellites in orbit, delivering real-time data and products to users worldwide. In 2025, FY-3H and FY-4C, both launched successfully. FY-3H enables accurate global greenhouse gas detection and supports climate change monitoring. FY-4C features improved observation frequency and precision, allowing for refined monitoring of weather systems and lightning. To maximize the utility of these satellites, China has established the FengYun Satellite Emergency Support Mechanism (FY_ESM) and developed a suite of web-based satellite application service platforms, including the MAZU-FengYun Satellite AI Box, enabling rapid response and comprehensive utilization of FengYun satellite data for global weather, climate, and disaster monitoring. Over the next two years, China plans to launch several additional FengYun meteorological satellites to further strengthen the global early warning system, support the United Nations "Early Warnings for All" initiative, and align with the four major priorities of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), thereby providing robust support for informed decision-making and action.
WANG Jingsong nsmc_fy@126.com
Chinese government in collaboration with relevant EO related authorities of African countries and ASEAN countries jointly build the China-Africa Cooperation Center on Satellite Remote Sensing Application(CACSA) and ASEAN-China Satellite Remote Sensing Application Centre(ACSAC),which uphold data-sharing network, carry out public goods development, satellite remote sensing monitoring and application demonstration, personnel training and exchange, so as to build a hub of knowledge sharing, experience exchange, and innovation in EO field.Moreover,Land Satellite Remote Sensing Application Center,MNR(LASAC) has jointly established 37 oversea nodes with 34 countries and 3 international organizations of Natural Resources Satellite Remote Sensing Cloud Service Platform(SatClouds) worldwide, shared more than 373,363 scenes within 11,599 baths and 480 TB of 2meter-resolution satellite images covering 114 countries and territories. These data have achieved the expected results in various domains of EO in the partner GEO Members.
Gao Xiaoming gaoxm@lasac.cn
Global sea surface wind field data obtained by China’s ocean satellites can provide accurate evaluation support for the development of offshore wind power as a new energy source. In recent years, China’s ocean dynamic environment satellites equipped with scatterometers and SAR payloads have formed an observation network, enabling global wind resource surveys and local detailed investigations. Wind field products based on multi-payload data fusion have played a significant role in wind farm site selection, turbine model matching decision-making, and post-construction operation and maintenance. They effectively reduce development costs, improve power generation efficiency, and enhance the economic viability and operational stability of offshore wind power development. Furthermore, they provide important support for accelerating the global transition to clean energy, strengthening energy supply resilience, and addressing climate change.
Zhu Haitian zht@mail.nsoas.org.cn
In November 2024, China successfully launched its first global high-precision sea surface salinity detection satellite(HY-4A). With a single salinity observation accuracy of 0.22 psu and a 30-day average accuracy of 0.091 psu, it helps to explore ocean heat storage and thermohaline circulation, improve the prediction level of climate anomalies such as El Niño, and support research on the correlation between sea surface salinity and the water cycle. The satellite also has the ability to detect soil moisture with an accuracy of 0.0374 m³/m³, which can be used for drought monitoring, agricultural environment assessment, and provide data support for regional water resource regulation and food security.
Diao Ninghui diaoninghui@mail.nsoas.org.cn
Implementation of the Global Typical Karst Area Observation (EO4KARST) Pilot Project, establishing an integrated "Space-Air-Ground" karst observation network, with monitoring demonstration sites set up in ASEAN, Central and Eastern Europe and other countries, achieving collaborative observation of water-soil-landscape. The project develops sustainable utilization models for karst landscape resources, supporting UN South-South cooperation demonstration cases, sharing karst observation data from 15 countries, and establishing a real-time monitoring data sharing mechanism. The achievements serve water security and ecological well-being for 25% of the global population in karst areas, effectively implementing GEO's vision of "Earth observation for the benefit of all humanity," and providing a Chinese solution for sustainable development in global karst regions.
Luo Qukan luoqukan11@163.com
Supported by the GEO Pilot Project, the UNESCO International Center on Global-Scale Geochemistry is systematically advancing the "Chemical Earth" International Big Science Program. By developing a global in-situ observation network, it fully underpins the core vision of GEO—sharing Earth observation data and driving global sustainable development. The global geochemical baselines network has cumulatively covered an area of over 37 million square kilometers, accounting for approximately 34% of the world’s land area. Joint geochemical mapping has been completed in 12 countries including Turkey, etc; a big data platform for the "Chemical Earth" has been built, which reveals the distribution patterns of key global elements and heavy metals. Multiple achievements have effectively empowered resource and environment assessment as well as green land conservation, and accelerated the application of GEO’s Earth observation outcomes.
Zhang Bimin zhangbimin@unesco-icgg.org
Through the construction of the Global UAV Remote Sensing Network Project, we have promoted China’s UAV remote sensing equipment and systems to bridge the gaps between satellite and ground-based observations within the GEO infrastructure, with a partnership network spanning Asia, Africa, and Europe, covering numerous GEO member states such as Nigeria and Serbia. Simultaneously, by hosting multiple ecological monitoring technical training sessions for the “Belt and Road” regions and co-supervising doctoral students and technical leads from countries like Tajikistan, we have effectively alleviated the shortage of professional talent in these regions. These efforts not only provide decision support for local institutions and governments but also contribute “Chinese Solutions” to global ecological security and international scientific cooperation, thereby supporting the implementation of the GEO Post-2025 Strategy.
YUE Huanyin yuehy@lreis.ac.cn
Relying on the GEOARC GWP to continuously promote cooperation in the Asia-Oceania region, built the Asia-Oceania Regional Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Platform (AOEM), successfully held relevant AOGEO meetings and clarified the development direction. By displaying China's high-quality Earth observation and geospatial data, we have improved the level of open sharing and interoperability of ecosystem monitoring data. Joint actions have been carried out for countries such as Cambodia and Pakistan, as well as the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), with the implementation of youth scholar exchanges and technical training to support capacity building in developing countries. We have deeply participated in the compilation of the GEO Ecosystem Atlas, integrated Chinese satellite data to support global ecological monitoring, biodiversity conservation and the implementation of sustainable development goals, and effectively supported the GEO global vision for sustainable development.
Liu Qinhuo liuqh@aircas.ac.cn
The GEO-PDRS targets major epidemic and migratory vegetation pests and diseases such as wheat rust, desert locust and fall armyworm. Under the GEO framework, it mobilizes international strengths in Earth observation and pest and disease surveillance to establish a global remote sensing-based monitoring and early warning system, and continuously delivers scientific reports and geospatial information products worldwide. The outcomes have been adopted by FAO and are shared and promoted through platforms such as GEO and GBIF to support global risk monitoring and prevention and control decision-making for major pest and disease threats. The initiative has received the FAO Outstanding Contribution Award and the GEO Team Impact Award; key member Linyi Liu received the GEO Emerging Leader Award, and its programme goals and roadmap were included in the first list of endorsed initiatives of the United Nations International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development. By strengthening Member countries' risk awareness and cross-border coordinated green management, GEO-PDRS supports food security and the implementation of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, demonstrating sustained contributions to GEO's vision and actions.
Huang Wenjiang huangwj@aircas.ac.cn
ChinaGEOSS Data Sharing Network has successfully established a national-level GEOSS infrastructures to integrate large number of archived satellite data, AI-ready data, scientific paper data and in-situ data. Facing the GEO engagement priorities, it completely shared 5.68 million data to GEOSS Portal in the past ten years. It has also collaborated with the GEO to establish the China GEO Knowledge Hub, which provides high-quality Earth observation solutions for the world, especially for developing countries, serving global issues such as climate change, disaster prevention and mitigation.
Zhang Lianchong zhanglc@aircas.ac.cn
Under the GEOGLAM framework, the CropWatch team enhances global food security through the adoption of the cutting-edge Earth Intelligence strategy. By leveraging an AI-driven pipeline, including CropWatchGPT, a multimodal LLM agent for automatic crop analysis and deep learning model for accurate field boundary delineation, CropWatch has empowered 32 “Global South” countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America to achieve independent agricultural monitoring. Customized cloud-based platforms and the CropWatch Farmer App have been deployed in Nigeria, Cambodia, Thailand, Mongolia, and Mozambique, transforming sophisticated Chinese solutions into accessible global public goods. This initiative lowers the barriers for accessing critical agricultural information, strengthens developing countries’ resilience against climate change and food fluctuations, and provides robust data support for UN SDG 2.
Zhang Miao zhangmiao@aircas.ac.cn
The large-footprint full-waveform LiDAR onboard the Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Inventory Satellite (TECIS, also known as "Goumang"), combined with Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery, provides a crucial data source for forest parameter retrieval and large-scale, spatially continuous mapping. This project aims to develop footprint-level forest biomass products and achieve active-passive synergistic continuous mapping across China and Europe using TECIS data. This product demonstrates the substantial potential of the TECIS satellite in generating high-accuracy forest biomass products and enabling the fine-scale mapping of forestry carbon sinks.
Pang Yong pangy@ifrit.ac.cn
The development of the Earth observation system has proceeded steadily and yielded remarkable outcomes.
(1) China has established a national rain attenuation monitoring network covering 13 cities including Beijing, Qingdao and Lanzhou, and revised two international rain attenuation standards, namely ITU-R P.530 and ITU-R P.619. These efforts have effectively supported the improvement of the global rain attenuation monitoring system and promoted the development of wireless communication such as satellite communications in the Ka-band and higher frequency bands, as well as terrestrial line-of-sight（LOS） communications systems.
(2) China has constructed 250 sets of atmospheric monitoring systems, including microwave radiometers and atmospheric temperature-humidity profilers. And developed cutting-edge detection technologies such as X-band phased-array weather radars and precipitation-measuring radars. These achievements have provided contributions to global Earth observation data sharing and disaster prevention.
XU Bin jasur82@163.com
GEO Global Forum 2025
05-09 May 25Rome, Italy
Full Statement 
ChinaGEOSS Data Sharing Network has successfully established a national-level GEOSS infrastructures to integrate large number of archived satellite data, AI-ready data, scientific paper data and in-situ data. Facing the GEO engagement priorities, it provides more then 5300 datasets to international users through a unified data portal, ensuring easy and seamless access to a wide range of China’s Earth observation resources. It is also the main channel for domestic and international data exchanges, ChinaGEOSS completely shared 5.68 million data to GEOSS Portal from 2016 to 2024 and made a significant contribution to the implementation of AOGEO IPS project.
Lianchong ZhangDeputy Director of ChinaGEOSS Data Sharing Network, Aerospace Information Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS)
The Institute of Karst Geology (IKG) of Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, has conducted a pilot initiative during 2023 to 2025: Earth Observations for Global Typical Karst (EO4KARST) focusing on water resources, land use and related resources protection in typical karst areas globally. So far, EO4KARST has built up an observation network with 32 sites built or absorbed in this network by sharing the authorized data. An initial online platform for sharing and managing the data with the related APP is developed into trial operation stage, which is planned to be formally operated by the end of 2025. EO4KARST is hoping to provide a practical big data platform for assisting the sustainable development of the fragile karst areas all over the world.
Qukan LuoAssociate Professor of Institute of Karst Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences
The China Brazil Earth Resources Satellite (CBERS) Data Distribution and Service Capacity Building Project for Southern Africa began at the fourth Plenary of GEO. In the past years, China Centre for Resources Satellite Data and Application (CRESDA) and South African National Space Agency (SANSA) have been working closely to realize the direct reception and processing of data from three satellites, CBERS-02B, CBERS-04 and CBERS-04A, at Hartbeeshock ground station in South Africa and the distribution in Southern Africa countries. These satellite data have played actively roles in disaster monitoring, environmental protection, land use and other fields. The project is one of the most successful practices of GEO to promote global data sharing, achieving common scientific and technological progress and promoting Earth observation technology to benefit mankind, and is also a successful case of space science and technology cooperation between China and South Africa.
Tao YueDirector General of China Centre for Resources Satellite Data and Application (CRESDA)
GEO China initiated the Collaborative Network of Disaster Data Response (CDDR) in 2016 in response to the GEO’s call for global coordinated disaster risk reduction. The CDDR mechanism has a membership of 34 China’s satellite agencies and 9 international Organizations, which contributes to the implementation of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. As of 2024, it had integrated 30 high resolution optical, radar, and hyperspectral satellites to cope with 56 major disaster emergency events such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions in 37 countries.
Xiang GaoDirector General of GEO China Secretariat, China Science and Technology Exchange Center
Chinese government in collaboration with relevant EO related authorities of African countries and ASEAN countries jointly build the China-Africa Cooperation Center on Satellite Remote Sensing Application (CACSA) and ASEAN-China Satellite Remote Sensing Application Centre (ACSAC), which uphold data-sharing network, carry out public goods development, satellite remote sensing monitoring and application demonstration, personnel training and exchange, so as to build a hub of knowledge sharing, experience exchange, and innovation in EO field. Moreover, Land Satellite Remote Sensing Application Center, MNR (LASAC) has jointly established 35 oversea nodes with 32 countries and 3 international organizations of Natural Resources Satellite Remote Sensing Cloud Service Platform (SatClouds) worldwide, shared more than 283,479 scenes within 9,857 baths and 369 TB of 2-meter resolution satellite images covering 112 countries and territories. These data have achieved the expected results in various domains of EO in the partner GEO Members.
GAO Xiaoming Deputy Director General, Land Satellite Remote Sensing Application Center, Ministry of Natural Resources of P.R.China
The Pengcheng Laboratory and the University of Hong Kong have introduced an innovative Global 30-m Seamless Data Cube (SDC 30), integrating multi-source satellite data. This advanced system systematically converts fragmented and noise-affected satellite observations into standardized temporal sequences, a better analysis-ready dataset. They are also sharing the first global near-daily wetland dynamics dataset produced from SDC30. The data are accessible through iEarth, a service system developed on the Pengcheng Cloud Brain II computing infrastructure. Over 6600 users from 75 countries and regions have registered and downloaded data from the iEarth platform (https://data-starcloud.pcl.ac.cn/iearthdata/).
Jie WangAssociate Research Fellow of Pengcheng Laboratory
Currently, China has eight Fengyun satellites in orbit, providing real-time data and products to users around the world. We have established a Fengyun satellite emergency support mechanism (FY_ESM) and developed a series of web-based satellite application service platforms (FY Earth and regional versions) to ensure rapid response and comprehensive use of Fengyun satellite data for global weather, climate and disaster monitoring. In the next two years, China will launch three Fengyun geostationary meteorological satellites to strengthen the global early warning system, support the United Nations "Early Warnings for All" initiative and the four major priorities of GEO, and provide support for decision-making and action.
WANG Jingsong Director General of National Satellite Meteorological Center (National Center for Space Weather) (NSMC/NCSW), China Meteorological Administration (CMA)
The 7th AOGEO (Asia-Oceania Group on Earth Observations) Workshop, with the theme of "Technology Advancement and Action of AOGEO for GEO Earth Intelligence Era", was held in Kunming China in February 2025. It brought together more than 80 participants from 14 countries (Japan, Australia, South Korea, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Singapore, etc.) in Asia-Oceania region. More than 7900 people watched the broadcast through the through an open-access journal livestreaming platform in association with AIRCAS.
Xingfa GuAerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS) / Guangzhou University, China
SDGSAT-1 has obtained more than 400,000 scenes of global imagery data since its launch in 2021. Through the “SDGSAT-1 Open Science Program”, researchers from 104 countries have signed up to access the SDGSAT-1 data to conduct research and support informed decision-making related to sustainable development.
SDG Big Data Platform, the big data cloud service infrastructure platform for SDGs, has stored a total of 19.78 petabytes of earth science data, serving over 100 countries and regions worldwide.
Data products for sustainable development have also been developed and released. In 2024, for example, seven sets of African sustainable development data products were presented to Philemon Yang, president of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, during the event themed “Global Development Initiative Supports the Global South -- China in Action,” held at the UN headquarters in New York.
The report series “Big Earth Data in Support of the Sustainable Development Goals”, drafted by the research team from the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS), have been released for six straight years. The 2023 edition was released at the High-level Meeting on Global Development Initiative Cooperation Outcomes held in New York. The latest report was launched on the UN website in September 2024.
Huadong GuoDirector General of International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS) Professor of Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS)
With the support of GEO and its member community, we have enhanced the use of Earth Observation (EO) data to monitor the ecological environments of Pacific Island nations. In 2024, we released the "Remote Sensing Monitoring Report on the Ecological Environment in Pacific Island States (2024)", which reveals urbanization, coastline changes, and mangrove dynamics in Pacific Island nations since 2000. Additionally, we released individual remote sensing monitoring reports for 12 Pacific Island States, providing detailed analyses tailored to each state’s unique environmental conditions. Furthermore, we conducted an international training program for 26 participants from 15 Small Island Developing States (SIDS), strengthening their capabilities in marine and coastal ecological monitoring and disaster forecast. We also provided remote sensing emergency monitoring services for disasters such as earthquakes and landslides in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, with one report published on the SPREP website (https://pacific-data.sprep.org/dataset/vanuatu-earthquake-satellite-imagery-analysis-report). These initiatives have bolstered the resilience of Pacific Island nations to climate change through data-driven coastal management. For more information, please visit our website: https://resoc.sio.org.cn.
Huaguo ZhangDeputy Director of State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Nature Recourse, China
National Disaster Reduction Center of China (NDRCC), as one of GEO Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group member agency, under the umbrella of GEO, actively engaged to facilitate to better using space-based technology for DRR, such as implementing a key R&D project for exploring the critical indicators and methodologies of Earth Observation applications under Sendai Framework, supporting UN-SPIDER Beijing Office for having held 10 years of annual Space-based Technologies for Disaster Risk Reduction Beijing Conference and providing satellite images and emergency mapping service for major disasters including the 2025 Myanmar Earth quake. Facing the GEO's Post-2025, we are willing to leverage increasing Chinese satellites for global disaster risk understanding, emergency response, S&T innovations.
SHI Feng Director General of National Disaster Reduction Center of China
GEO Week 2023
06-10 Nov 23Cape Town, South Africa
Full Statement 
I believe that in the future, GEO will further leverage the advantages of inter-governmental and international organizations to promote the connectivity of Earth observation infrastructure, the smooth flow of spatial and geographic information elements, the harmonization of concepts and philosophies among countries with a value orientation of inclusiveness and mutual learning, and the heart-to-heart bond among the international general public, aiming at jointly boosting stronger, greener, and more sustainable future shared by all.
Dr. ZHANG Guangjun GEO China Co-chair, Vice-minister of Science and Technology of China
From May 29 to 31, we successfully held the 6th AOGEO Workshop in Macau, China. Under the theme ‘Demand-driven Advancements in Earth Observation Technology and Application’, the Workshop attracted more than 80 offline participants from 18 countries and 6700 participants online among which heated discussions were delivered covering various region-specific topics including capacity building, youth’s participation in GEO, open data and open knowledge, etc. As the GEO co-chair representing AOGEO and developing countries, China will continue dedicating efforts into regional Earth observation advancement in pursuit of a balanced and mutual development to close digital and information gaps.
Dr. ZHAO Jing Director General of GEO China Secretariat National Remote Sensing Center of China
GEO China initiated the Collaborative Network of Disaster Data Response (CDDR) in 2016 in response to the GEO’s call for global coordinated disaster risk reduction. By October, 2023, the CDDR mechanism has been triggered 47 times in total by global major disasters including earthquakes, volcano eruption, floods, tsunami, typhoon, wild fires, explosion, avalanche, among others in 33 countries. Satellite data, images, disaster analysis, rapid mapping and related services sourced from more than 30 public and commercial Chinese satellites were provided to affected countries for free. In the future, China welcomes contributions from more countries and institutions to CDDR, enabling countries with insufficient capacity in disaster risk reduction to benefit from Earth observations.
Dr. LIU Zhichun Deputy Director General of GEO China Secretariat National Remote Sensing Center of China
Under the direction of GEO China Secretariat (NRSCC), targeting the GEO Engagement Priority of Resilient City and Human Settlement, GEO China Expert Working Group closely keeps pace with GEO’s advancement. Together with multi-disciplinary talents applying Earth observations, we are building an integrated space-air-ground monitoring system, leveraging the sensing intelligence for all in our cities and human settlement. We will continue transforming scientific research into applicable and accessible EO services and products to secure a sustainable and resilient future in support for the New Urban Agenda along with other global initiatives.
Prof. YUE Qingrui President, National Science and Technology Institute of Urban Safety Development of China; Dean, Research Institute of Urbanization and Urban Safety, University of Science and Technology Beijing
Based on long time-series Earth observation satellite data and socio-economic data, we have developed SDGs indicators and local dynamic monitoring and evaluation platform, aiming at analyzing transformation between SDGs indicators and geoinformation and calculating SDGs indicators to support dynamic and normalized monitoring. The application case of this platform was delivered in Deqing, China, and exhibited an 8-minute coverage of medical facilities. The case was also presented at the UN Summit on Sustainable Development Goals in Sept., 2023.
Prof. Chen Jun Academic, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, National Geomatics Center of China, Ministry of Natural Rerourses
Initiated by National Remote Sensing Center of China in 2012, Global Ecosystem and Environment Observation Analysis Research Cooperation (GEOARC) has been consecutively releasing analytical reports and datasets for more than 10 years, covering a wide range of topics such as water, cities, climate change, natural disasters, crop, cryosphere and so on, in which EO tools are used to support decision making, capacity building and scientific research. So far, GEOARC has published 31 annual reports and 115 open access datasets in total.
Prof. LIU Qinhuo Aerospace Information Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS)
On February 6, 2023, Earthquakes occurred in southern Turkey within 10 hours, causing heavy casualties, serious damage to social and economic facilities in 11 provinces of Turkey and parts of Syria. UNOSAT has collaborated with Wuhan University for the disaster loss mapping. Night-time imagery from Chinese satellites and U.S. satellites were combined to track the electricity loss and recovery in the disaster-affected cities.
Prof. LI Xi Wuhan University
GEO Week 2022
31 Oct 22 - 04 Nov 22Accra, Ghana
Full Statement 
United at the first China GEO Conference, China GEO community further strengthens in-depth research to address common global challenges and carry out cooperation on food security early warning, ecological environment monitoring and climate change response. We hope to help building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind through a joint effort.
ZHAO Jing Director General, National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSCC), Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MOST)
Established in 2016, Collaborative network on Disaster Data Response (CDDR) is responsible for coordinating the provision of Chinese high-resolution satellite data and disaster analysis products to disaster-affected countries. By October 2022, the CDDR mechanism had provided information services to cope with 35 major disaster emergency events such as earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, storm surges, wild fire and explosions in 25 countries.
LIU Zhichun Deputy Director General, National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSCC), Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MOST)
Two new members of the Fengyun satellite family, Fengyun 3E and Fengyun 4B, were put into operation on June 1, 2022. We provide various forms of data sharing, downloading and processing services. Applications using Fengyun satellite data, especially those aiming at GEO priorities including sustainable development, climate change, and disaster resilience, are very welcome.
WANG Jingsong Director General of National Satellite Meteorological Center (NSMC) China Meteorological Administration (CMA)
Under the GEO Community Activity “In-Situ Observations and Applications for Typical Ecosystem Status of China and Central-Asia”, a 12-day training workshop on ecosystem monitoring in China and Central Asia was organized with 30 participants from 6 countries, which enhanced monitoring capacity of technicians and research staff from the Central Asia for their better environment status review.
ZHANG Xinyu Professor, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences
From 2020 to 2022, GEOARC advocated analysis-ready open data by integrating multiple EO data to generate common products. GEOARC released 4 annual reports and 41 datasets for ecosystem and environmental monitoring to support the GEO priorities, organized more than 10 task group sectorial meetings in AOGEO Symposium, GEO Week side events, training and other activities.
LIU Qinhuo Professor, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS)
The Zero Hunger Goal is an important part of UN SDGs and an important mission of GEO. The global agricultural remote sensing monitoring cloud service platform, CropWatch was developed since 1998. Over the past 20 years, CropWatch has been providing public information sharing services on agricultural monitoring, enhancing agricultural capacity building in developing countries, and increasing the transparency of global agricultural information. CropWatch will follow GEO's strategic vision to further advance the accessibility and EO application to decision-making for the benefit of humankind.
WU Bingfang GEOGLAM Co-chair, Lead of CropWatch Team Professor, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS)
Encouraged by GEO and the GEO Member Community, we have conducted remote sensing monitoring of habitat suitability and dynamic forecasting of occurrence risk for globally significant migratory and epidemic crop pests and diseases (desert locust, fall armyworm, wheat rust, etc.), and published scientific reports. The outcomes have been adopted, shared, and released more than 100 times by domestic and international government departments, organizations, institutions, and industrial enterprises. With these services, we have promoted the practical application of products and contributed to the achievement of SDG and disaster risk reduction objectives.
HUANG Wenjiang Professor, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS)
In June 2022, supported by GEO and AOGEO community, the 5th AOGEO Workshop was held online with the adoption of 2022 AOGEO Announcement. More than 130 delegates from 16 countries attended this workshop online and over 500 people watched the broadcast. The theme of this year is “Harmony and Empowerment: Accelerate Action and Development”. AOGEO will accelerate action to promote synergistic development and regional empowerment in response to regional needs.
GU Xingfa Member of GEO Program Board Co-chair of AOGEO Coordination Board Professor, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS)
On September 20, China announced to make the data acquired by the Sustainable Development Science Satellite (SDGSAT-1) launched by China in November last year available globally to assist countries in sustainable development research and decision-making. China released the Report on Big Earth Data in Support of the Sustainable Development Goals (2022), which studies the interactions among SDG indicators and their integrated evaluations, providing scientific evidences for quantitative and systematic evaluating the implementation of SDGs at national, regional and global level.
GUO Huadong Director General, International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals Professor, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS)