We’ve got a new space race on our hands, and instead of competing as we should, we’re spacing out.

The Trump administration is doing an excellent job of utilizing statutory remedies to temper China’s decades-long economic aggression against the United States. But there is another important economic and global security issue that has gone almost entirely under the radar of both bureaucrats and most reporters: China’s race for global space domination.

According to Richard Fisher, an expert in China’s military affairs at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, the country is aiming “to achieve control of low earth orbit in order to defeat the United States on Earth.”

China has a clear plan to achieve its objectives. Although the U.S. currently has a bigger space budget, estimates are that China intends to triple its space budget, could soon surpass the U.S. in research and development spending, has several private-sector rocket start-ups and is on-par with the U.S. and Russia in successful space launches. This ebbing of our competitive edge has prompted some leaders in the Air Force to criticize our space policy in recent years.

Thwarting Chinese President Xi Jinping’s goal of space dominance starts with making it a priority. President John F. Kennedy demonstrated how policymakers can get these issues on the public’s radar and create national momentum behind them. It requires bold vision from President Trump and bipartisan leadership from his administration and Congress to beat China in space.

Making the mission of stopping China a priority is the critical first step, but to win this battle our leaders must also value successful technologies above parochial and political considerations.