Australia is a co-host of a worldwide radio telescope project, the UK-headquartered Square Kilometre Array, along with South Africa, while China, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland are all members.
“[We are] confident that Western Australia will continue to be an important investment location for China,” Western Australia premier Mark McGowan told the Post at the end of last month. “Our geographic location, dry environmental conditions, radio quiet zones and clear skies provides an attractive setting for major space projects.”South Africa’s Karoo region will carry the core of the high- and mid-frequency dishes for the Square Kilometre Array project, which will be the largest radio telescope in the world when completed in 2028.
“Science is not bound by national borders, and innovation is a never-ending endeavour,” said China’s Minister of Science and Technology, Wang Zhigang, in a video statement released on Monday. “Currently we don’t have Chinese start-ups or Chinese businesses located [Western Australia],” she added.