A Long March-3B carrier rocket carrying a new-generation Beidou satellite lifts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Xichang, southwest China's Sichuan Province. [Photo: Xinhua]

A new round of testing has been conducted on the Beidou Satellite Navigational system toward allowing the Chinese system to begin offering real-time navigation and positioning services.

The tests have involved the high-tech atomic clocks on the satellites.

Beidou Chief Engineer Xie Jun says their testing will eventually give the Beidou system the ability to transmit real-time navigational information to its users.

"As we've seen from the testing results, the high-speed transmissions are working well. The advantage of high-speed transmission lies in the timely transmission of data from the satellite. The original low-speed transmissions delay the flow of data."

The latest edition to the Beidou Satellite Navigation System went into orbit at the end of September, giving the system 20 active satellites.

This now allows Beidou to cover most of the Asia-Pacific region.

When the system is fully-operational, it will cover the entire globe, and will be an alterative to the United States' GPS system, which is controlled by the US military.