China has eased listing requirements for private companies developing reusable commercial rockets, shifting regulatory scrutiny away from short-term financial performance and toward technological milestones, as Beijing steps up efforts to close the gap with the United States in launch capabilities and low-Earth-orbit satellites.
The changes reflect the realities of the rocket industry, where research costs are high, technical risks substantial, and commercialization timelines long. Under traditional profitability or revenue thresholds, many early-stage aerospace firms have struggled to access public capital. Chinese financial regulators now appear willing to tolerate those constraints in exchange for strategic progress.
Technical milestones trump financial benchmarks
According to the STAR Market Daily, the Shanghai Stock Exchange has introduced a dedicated fifth listing standard under the STAR Market framework for commercial rocket companies. The revised criteria place greater weight on core technological breakthroughs, phased development achievements, industry positioning, and long-term market potential—broadening access to financing for firms still deep in development.
Under the new rules, companies may list without meeting minimum revenue or profitability requirements, provided they can demonstrate key technical progress, such as the successful orbital insertion of a payload using reusable rocket technology. A fully successful booster recovery, however, is not required.
Earlier this month, LandSpace, one of China's leading private aerospace companies, completed an orbital launch of its new Zhuque-3 rocket. While the mission did not achieve booster recovery, it nonetheless met the technical threshold now recognized by regulators.
In a report published on December, 26, 2025, Reuters said the Shanghai Stock Exchange would also allow reusable rocket developers to list through a fast-track initial public offering process, waiving additional financial requirements as China seeks to narrow its gap with the United States in space capabilities. The fast-track builds on rules issued in June 2025 that already lowered barriers for unprofitable but highly innovative firms.
SpaceX's technological lead
Reusable rocket technology remains overwhelmingly dominated by SpaceX, Elon Musk's aerospace company, whose launch vehicles are effectively the only ones capable of routine orbital missions with reusable first-stage boosters. The United States retains a clear advantage in recovering, refurbishing, and reusing launch hardware—an edge that has helped SpaceX lower costs and accelerate satellite deployment.
LandSpace's Zhuque-3 test earlier this month marked the first full-scale reusable rocket trial by a Chinese private company, underscoring Beijing's determination to close that gap. Though the recovery attempt fell short, a growing number of state-owned and private Chinese firms are now racing to test their own reusable systems.
LandSpace has said it hopes to demonstrate a successful booster recovery during the second Zhuque-3 launch in mid-2026. The company has also acknowledged that competing with SpaceX will require sustained capital investment—making access to public markets critical.
Regulatory support with strategic overtones
The revised listing framework is formalized in a new regulatory document: Guidance No. 9 on the Application of Rules for the Review of Issuance and Listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The guideline contains 14 provisions outlining eligibility criteria, including business scope, "hard technology" credentials, demonstrable technical advantages, phased achievements, regulatory approvals, industry standing, market potential, and commercialization plans.
Article 5 of the guideline sets explicit operational requirements. Applicants must be engaged in ongoing research and development or the commercialization of scientific results and must, at the time of listing, have achieved at least one measurable milestone: the first successful orbital insertion of a payload using reusable technology on a medium- or heavy-lift launch vehicle. Regulators also require that no significant technical or operational obstacles remain that could materially impair future launch missions.
The guidelines, which took effect immediately, give priority support to companies undertaking national missions or participating in state-led major space programs—highlighting the close alignment between commercial launch activity and China's broader strategic objectives.
Chinese officials have repeatedly described SpaceX's dominance in low-Earth-orbit satellite deployment as a national security concern. In response, Beijing has accelerated development of its own satellite constellations, with plans to deploy tens of thousands of satellites over the coming decades.
By reshaping capital market rules to accommodate riskier, longer-horizon technologies, China is signaling that in the race for space infrastructure, technological progress—not near-term profits—now carries the greatest weight.
Article edited by Jerry Chen
