(NewsNation) — In a modern day space race, countries around the globe are pushing to be the first to prove there is life beyond Earth.

Has China won? In a report published Wednesday, China says it has picked up on “suspicious signals” they believe could be from an extraterrestrial civilization.  

Scientists there are using their China Sky Eye, the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope. They say the technology holds a major advantage in searching for the extraterrestrial civilizations with a larger observation area than any other such telescope, along with 19 beams that receive signals from different sky areas.

Space journalist Leonard David joined NewsNation’s Rush Hour to speak about the report, wihch he says has since been pulled off the Chinese media site that initially published it.

“This is a bit of a race to find a new civilization or a civilization out there beyond Earth. It’s a space race in its own right,” David said.

David says experts he has spoken to chalk the signals up to radio frequency interference.

Still, David says, “I do think we are on the edge of something significant.”