Chinese Insurers Back SpaceX’s Rivals in Billion-Dollar Space Race

This article is part of a series on how SpaceX’s historic IPO is reshaping global capital flows, from mainland Chinese investors to Hong Kong markets. In 2016, a SpaceX rocket exploded during a test. The blast destroyed a satellite and ground equipment worth millions of dollars. The satellite’s operator, Israel’s Space Communications, was covered. It held an insurance policy that paid for the loss. Who paid that claim? Chinese insurers. As Elon Musk’s company races toward a trillion-dollar valuation, Chinese capital is quietly backing SpaceX’s competitors. Insurers in mainland China are underwriting policies for satellite operators and launch providers that directly challenge the US rocket giant. This financial support is legal and routine. It highlights how global capital flows ignore national borders—even in the high-stakes orbital race between the US and China.