PARIS — The European Union (EU) and China cemented an agreement on Chinese participation in Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation project Oct. 30, with details on China’s expected $234 million stake in Galileo to be settled later.

On the heels of the accord, a top European Commission official said the Indian government also has indicated an interest in making an even larger financial investment in Galileo pending a bilateral agreement that could be completed by early 2004.

European Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio said Oct. 30 that India’s investment could total 300 million euros ($353 million), topping China’s planned investment.

China’s involvement in Galileo has followed a similar course, with the decisive step occurring Oct. 30 in Beijing at the Sixth China-EU Summit. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who holds the rotating EU presidency, and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao oversaw the signature of what EU officials refer to as an Adhesion Agreement.

The agreement makes clear that China will not have access to Galileo’s Public Regulated Service, an encrypted signal to be used by European security and emergency forces and is likely to be used by at least some EU military forces.

The Public Regulated Service is the hard core of the dispute between the EU and United States over how Galileo will co-exist with the U.S. constellation of navigation, timing and positioning satellites known as the Global Positioning System (GPS).

"We want to make especially clear to our U.S. colleagues that the agreement with the Chinese does not affect the security aspects," Gantelet said. "China will not have a seat on the Galileo Security Committee and will not have a role in decisions made there."

The 19-page agreement signed Oct. 30 is less categorical. It says a Chinese role in Galileo’s Public Regulated Service, including "critical features of the Galileo global segment as well as exchange of classified Galileo information, would be subject to an appropriate separate agreement to be concluded between the European Union and China" if requested by the two sides.

The agreement also says the sectors to be open for cooperation in satellite navigation will include "industrial manufacturing, ... trade, radio-spectrum issues, integrity issues, standardization and certification and security."

But the agreement also stipulates that it will not change existing EU regulations on non-proliferation of defense technologies or export controls on dual-use items.

EU officials have hoped for a cash contribution from China, a welcome development for a program that is more than 2 billion euros short of the 3.4 billion euros it estimates it will cost to design and build the 30-satellite Galileo system. For their part, Chinese officials had suggested their contribution could come in the form of launching at least part of the Galileo constellation.

China has a fleet of Long March launch vehicles, and recently launched its first astronaut into orbit in a sign of confidence in its rocket technology. It has also launched two regional navigation satellites, called Beidou, of its own.

But European Space Agency officials, whose member governments are dividing the initial 1.1 billion euros in Galileo design investment with the commission, have reacted negatively to a Chinese launch of Galileo. The agency recently agreed to spend nearly 1 billion euros to support Europe’s Ariane 5 launcher. "The signal we send if we use China to launch Galileo would not be the right one at this time," one ESA official said.

The cooperation agreement does not resolve the issue, but says a joint EU-China committee will be created "to investigate and guide the cooperation on satellite manufacturing, launch services, ground station building and application products." It says the exact amount of China’s financial contribution will be the subject of a separate agreement.