China's first commercial aerospace industrial base, with a production capacity of up to 30 rockets per year, has begun operations in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, local authorities said.

The base, owned by CAS Space, a Beijing-based rocket company under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is intended to help drive upstream and downstream industries — including aerospace power and satellite and rocket satellite measurement — to gather in Nansha, in the heart of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

After launching its PR rocket series in Nansha, CAS Space signed launching agreements worth of 1.6 billion yuan ($236.1 million) with seven partners, according to the company.