Amap, a mapping application operated by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, has expanded its coverage to overseas territories using Chinese local maps. Beidou satellite navigation systemIt described its service as “a global atlas of the Chinese people”.
Locally known as Gaode Map, the digital map supports route planning and navigation in more than 200 countries and regions after its upgrade on Sept. Global satellite locations in the United States. An event themed “Initiative and Road” was hosted by the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Amap users can use the app to search for and view nearby attractions and services, such as restaurants and hotels, in countries that are part of the United States Belt and Road – China’s ambitious plan to connect more than 70 countries across Asia, Europe and Africa via the “New Silk Road” of railways, highways and ports – according to the company.
Chinese media quoted Liu as saying that Amap aims to “actively participate” in promoting the digitalization of Beijing’s major infrastructure interconnection plan.
A carrier rocket carrying a satellite of the Beidou Satellite Navigation System lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province in June 2020. Photo: Xinhua
The expanded coverage of the map comes after China launched its 56th Beidou satellite in May, three years after the launch of the last satellite. By comparison, the Global Positioning System (GPS) currently consists of 24 operational satellites.
The Belt and Road project, which was launched in 2013 with the aim of boosting China’s trade relations with the world and expanding the country’s global influence through infrastructure and investments, has so far covered 152 countries.
But the initiative faces headwinds amid China’s slowing economy and rising geopolitical tensions with the Western world.
Italy, the only Belt and Road member of the G7, is looking to exit the Chinese programme, with Defense Minister Guido Croceto recently calling for the decision in 2019 to join the plan. ‘A heinous improvisation’.
Meanwhile, the Amap region may find itself caught in the middle of territorial disputes between China and neighboring countries. The latest standard map of ChinaThe document, released by the Ministry of Natural Resources on Monday, raised objections from the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and India.
Amap, one of the top mapping apps in China, saw a record of more than 220 million daily active users during the week-long National Day holiday last October, according to the company.
Hangzhou-based Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, in February Amap gave a boost By combining it with the restaurant review features of sister app Koubei, the company has realigned internal resources to deal with the growing competition.
