The West is facing a growing threat from China in the space sector, and a coordinated response is needed to counter that, space industry experts told the UK Parliament on Tuesday. “I think China is one of the biggest issues at play geopolitically. China is building up a strong military and civil and more commercial space programme now. It’s very advanced. The threats are increasing from them,” said Nik Smith, Lockheed Martin Space UK Regional Director for the UK, at a session of the Defence Select Committee in the House of Commons. Smith warned that the UK needs to avoid another potential “Huawei-type situation.” Britain has become so dependent on telecom equipment from the Chinese company that Prime Minister Boris Johnson initially refused to ban Huawei from the UK’s 5G networks, a decision that was reversed in July 2020 under intense pressure from the Trump administration. “If the Chinese continue …