The rocket blasted off early Tuesday AEST, state news agency Xinhua said, adding the mission was unsuccessful and the cause was under analysis and investigation.
China's National Space Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, commenting on a post about the failed launch on X, wrote "rockets are insanely hard."
Many private and state-owned Chinese firms are racing to close the gap with SpaceX.
"I hope they have a speedy recovery," he added.
Jonathan McDowell, an honorary professor at Durham University and a member of the Center for Space Environmentalism, said launch video showed the rocket was completely destroyed at relatively low altitude and velocity, meaning neither the payload nor debris reached orbit.
The failure was the Long March 7A's first since its maiden flight in March 2020, when an in-flight malfunction caused the mission to fail.
The rocket returned to flight successfully a year later and completed over a dozen successful flights before Monday's mission, based on Chinese launch records.
The Long March 7A is a medium-lift rocket designed for high-orbit missions.
China's Long March rockets form the backbone of the country's state-run space program.
with DPA
10°C