The United States and China are engaged in intense competition over the framework of international space governance, with the core dispute centered on how to shape the international space order. China advocates for a space order based on international law within the United Nations framework to ensure fair access to and peaceful development of space resources. In contrast, the United States favors a rule-based order aligned with its own standards and cooperates with allies to reinforce its strategic advantage and protect commercial interests. This competition reflects the two nations’ rivalry over rule-making authority in emerging domains. Both the U.S. and China leverage their space capabilities to influence rule-making, with China promoting the concept of a “community of shared future for mankind,” while the U.S. advancing “responsible behavior” norms to regulate space activities. These differing approaches present challenges to achieving a unified international framework for space governance. China's strategy focuses on legal mechanisms, proposing measures to limit an arms race in space and to ban the deployment of weapons, while the U.S. prioritizes voluntary guidelines with restrictions on specific space weapons and enhances its influence through allied support. U.S.-China space competition will profoundly impact the global space security architecture, technological cooperation models, and resource allocation mechanisms, potentially resulting in three distinct order scenarios: “incompatible and antagonistic coexisting orders,” “U.S.-led unilateral dominance,” or “integrated co-existence of U.S. and Chinese rules.” As global power dynamics shift, a consensus between the U.S. and China within the United Nations framework to establish a legally binding international space governance mechanism would contribute to the long-term stability of the space order and reduce uncertainty.

U.S.-China great power competition;International space order;rule-based internationd order;law-based intemational order