China's space exploration sets example in global cooperation

When asked whether there will be foreign astronauts joining China's space station, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at Monday's press briefing that exploring the unknown universe and developing space technology is a common cause of mankind, which cannot be achieved without the cooperation of countries around the world.

China has always adhered to the principles of peaceful and mutual-beneficial use and common development of space, signed cooperation agreements with France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Pakistan, as well as space agencies and organizations such as the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the European Space Agency, Wang said.

China's space station is the first project of its kind that is open to all UN member states, Wang further noted, and there are already nine projects involving some 17 countries and 23 entities selected among the first batch of scientific experiments to be carried out on the station.

Simonetta Di Pippo, director of the UNOOSA, said China's opening-up of the space station to the world is a good example of its will to enhance international cooperation in space missions.

As the International Space Station will possibly retire after 2024, China's Tiangong is likely to become the only operational space station in the world.

In an exclusive interview with the Global Times on Saturday, Bai Linhou, deputy chief designer of China's space station, said that China's space station is an inclusive one and has been designed in a way that foreign astronauts can adapt to.

Once Tiangong enters the operational phase, Bai said, foreign astronauts will have two ways to enter China's space station - by a Chinese spacecraft, or by their own spacecraft with a docking interface suitable to Tiangong.