Visitors view engine models at a research and development center of Geely Auto in east China's Zhejiang Province, July 3, 2018. (Xinhua)

 Chinese private automaker Geely is recruiting senior rocket engineers to fulfill its ambitious commercial satellite plans.

Yang Xueliang, deputy president of the privately owned firm, confirmed the recruitment drive on Chinese social media platform Weibo, posting "Geely is not making its own rockets, and the hiring of senior rocket engineers is for the firm's rocket and satellite integration plans.

"The satellites were self-developed [by Geely], while the rockets were purchased from other firms," Yang said.

Geely on March 3 launched a satellite intelligent assembly, integration and test (AIT) center in Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, revealing its comprehensive layout in the field of commercial satellites, according to an online statement from the company.

The AIT center plans to establish facilities including a satellite research and development center, a components intelligent manufacturing center, an inspection and control center and a big data platform, aiming to assemble and test different satellites.

Geely has been accelerating investment in high-tech areas, and is actively laying out its businesses in different sectors, including new-energy products, batteries, and aero-cars. The move into satellite technology was not sudden, and could have synergic effect with the company's auto development, Mei Songlin, a senior analyst at the auto industry, told the Global Times.

Since China is entering the 5G era, there will be more advanced navigation systems for vehicles which need support from satellites. "This will also be a tech arena for enterprises across the world," Mei said.

As the first auto company in China to independently develop low-orbit satellites, Geely made a strategic investment in aerospace science and technology company Geespace in 2018 and began to lay out an integrated land and aviation travel ecology.

Two low-orbit satellites designed by Geespace have passed various stages of tests and are expected to be launched within the year, according to the company's statement.

China has a huge domestic market, and while customers are exercising caution currently as they are wary of committing capital to future projects due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is encouraging that Chinese enterprises are actively exploring advanced tech areas to upgrade themselves and attract interest with innovative products, especially when the world is facing unprecedented fallout from the outbreak, Mei noted.