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Pseudo-private rocket company in China raises $200 million from Chinese investors

The Chinese pseudo-private rocket company Galactic Energy has successfully raised $200 million from a number of Chinese investors, money that the company will use to develop a mid-size rocket with a reusable first stage.

Though the company is not directly funded by the Chinese government, it is not an independent private company, which is why I label it “pseudo.” Everything it does is closely supervised and approved by the communist government. Also, some of this investment money apparently came from “state-backed investment vehicles,” which in plain language are fronts used by the government to funnel funding to these companies while maintaining the false appearance the companies are entirely private.

The fake nature of this charade has apparently influenced the decisions of real investors:

Incomplete information on funding in China’s emerging commercial space sector suggested that overall investment was lagging just over halfway through 2021, concentrating in fewer players.

It appears that no one outside China is willing to put money behind these companies, and even within China there is hesitancy.

Nonetheless, by letting many such competing operations that can also make profits for investors, China is successfully encouraging some innovation. That Galactic Energy — as well as several others — are planning on building reusable rockets is evidence of that.

Conscious Choice cover

Now available in hardback and paperback as well as ebook!

 

From the press release: In this ground-breaking new history of early America, historian Robert Zimmerman not only exposes the lie behind The New York Times 1619 Project that falsely claims slavery is central to the history of the United States, he also provides profound lessons about the nature of human societies, lessons important for Americans today as well as for all future settlers on Mars and elsewhere in space.

 
Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space, is a riveting page-turning story that documents how slavery slowly became pervasive in the southern British colonies of North America, colonies founded by a people and culture that not only did not allow slavery but in every way were hostile to the practice.  
Conscious Choice does more however. In telling the tragic history of the Virginia colony and the rise of slavery there, Zimmerman lays out the proper path for creating healthy societies in places like the Moon and Mars.

 

“Zimmerman’s ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says.” —Robert Zubrin, founder of founder of the Mars Society.

 

All editions are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all book vendors, with the ebook priced at $5.99 before discount. The ebook can also be purchased direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit, in which case you don't support the big tech companies and I get a bigger cut much sooner.

 

Autographed printed copies are also available at discount directly from me (hardback $24.95; paperback $14.95; Shipping cost for either: $5.00). Just email me at zimmerman @ nasw dot org.

4 comments

  • Gary H

    “Though the company is not directly funded by the Chinese government, it is not an independent private company, which is why I label it “pseudo.” Everything it does is closely supervised and approved by the communist government.”

    Doesn’t NASA help to finance private firms through awarding contracts? The need for private US firms to get approval from many levels of local, state and federal in order to do business certainly exercises a good bit of control and expense to firms like SpaceX.

  • Gary H: Private companies in the U.S. are not owned or controlled by the government. They obviously have to obey regulations, but they own their rockets, and can sell their services to pretty much anyone but China (which a law forbids). They can also develop projects that the government doesn’t necessarily want or like.

    The Chinese companies might have private owners and operators, but those individuals take their orders from the government, and wouldn’t dare do anything the government disagrees with. They also can be taken over entirely by the state at any time. Their ownership rights are really nil.

    These differences are not trivial.

  • Edward

    Isn’t it sad that when the government purchases goods or services many people conclude it is funding or subsidizing that company. When someone buys a Big Mac, did that person fund McDonalds? There once was a time when commerce was commerce, not investment or handout.

  • Star Bird

    China set to get some gains from Biden’s acts of Treason against America

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