The launch, conducted on Monday by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology, involved 18 satellites and a single rocket, as reported by The China Securities Journal, a publication run by state news agency Xinhua.

The rocket was launched from the Taiyuan satellite and missile launch centre in Shanxi province.

These satellites represent the initial phase of the company's endeavour to create a network of 15,000 Low Earth Orbit satellites, named the "Thousand Sails Constellation."

The company aims to achieve this target by 2030, according to The China Securities Journal.

Domestic media have widely referred to the project as the Chinese equivalent of Starlink, which currently operates around 6,000 satellites. Elon Musk has indicated plans to expand Starlink's network to 42,000 satellites.

The Thousand Sails Constellation, also known as the G60 project, is one of three major satellite networks planned in China, each expected to deploy 10,000 or more satellites.

Most of these satellites are anticipated to orbit between 200 and 1,200 miles above the Earth's surface, similar to the altitude range of Starlink satellites.

These three constellations, along with numerous other ambitious space projects from Chinese firms, have been driven by a recent government initiative to integrate the private sector into its science and technology objectives.

What might worry the US is that China will probably allow countries like North Korea and Russia to use the array.