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White Paper: China's Space Activities
February 2000
Information Office of the State
Council
Introduction
The scope of mankind's activities has experienced
expansion from land to ocean, from ocean to atmosphere,
and from atmosphere to outer space. Space technology,
which emerged in the 1950s, opened up a new era of man's
exploration of outer space. Having developed rapidly for
about half a century, mankind's space activities have
scored remarkable achievements, greatly promoted the
development of social productivity and progress, and
produced profound and far-reaching effects. Space
technology has turned out to be one field of high
technology that exerts the most profound influence on
modern society. The continuous development and
application of space technology has become an important
endeavor in the modernization drive of countries all
over the world.
The Chinese nation created a glorious civilization in
the early stage of mankind's history. The gunpowder
"rocket" invented by ancient Chinese was the embryo of
modern space rockets. After the People's Republic of
China was founded in 1949, China carried out space
activities on its own, and succeeded in developing and
launching its first man-made satellite in 1970. China
has made eye- catching achievements, and now ranks among
the world's most advanced countries in some important
fields of space technology. In the 21st century, China
will continue to promote the development of its space
industry in the light of its national situation, and
make due contributions to the peaceful use of outer
space, and to the civilization and progress of mankind.
At the turn of the century, it is of significance to
give a brief introduction to the aims and principles,
present situation, future development and international
cooperation concerning China' s space activities.
I. Aims And Principles
The Chinese government has all along regarded the space
industry as an integral part of the state's
comprehensive development strategy, and upheld that the
exploration and utilization of outer space should be for
peaceful purposes and benefit the whole of mankind. As a
developing country, China's fundamental tasks are
developing its economy and continuously pushing forward
its modernization drive.
The aims and principles of China's space activities are
determined by their important status and function in
protecting China's national interests and implementing
the state's development strategy. The aims of China's
space activities are: to explore outer space, and learn
more about the cosmos and the Earth; to utilize outer
space for peaceful purposes, promote mankind's
civilization and social progress, and benefit the whole
of mankind; and to meet the growing demands of economic
construction, national security, science and technology
development and social progress, protect China's
national interests and build up the comprehensive
national strength.
China carries out its space activities in accordance
with the following principles:
-- Adhering to the principle of long-term, stable and
sustainable development and making the development of
space activities cater to and serve the state's
comprehensive development strategy. The Chinese
government attaches great importance to the significant
role of space activities in implementing the strategy of
revitalizing the country with science and education and
that of sustainable development, as well as in economic
construction, national security, science and technology
development and social progress. The development of
space activities is encouraged and supported by the
government as an integral part of the state's
comprehensive development strategy.
-- Upholding the principle of independence,
self-reliance and self-renovation and actively promoting
international exchanges and cooperation. China shall
rely on its own strength to tackle key problems and make
breakthroughs in space technology. Meanwhile, due
attention shall be given to international cooperation
and exchanges in the field of space technology, and
self-renovation in space technology shall be combined
organically with technology import on the principles of
mutual benefit and reciprocity.
-- Selecting a limited number of targets and making
breakthroughs in key areas according to the national
situation and strength. China carries out its space
activities for the purpose of satisfying the fundamental
demands of its modernization drive. A limited number of
projects that are of vital significance to the national
economy and social development are selected so as to
concentrate strength to tackle major difficulties and
achieve breakthroughs in key fields.
-- Enhancing the social and economic returns of space
activities and paying attention to the motivation of
technological progress. China strives to explore a more
economical and efficient development road for its space
activities so as to achieve the integration of
technological advance and economic rationality.
-- Sticking to integrated planning, combination of
long-term development and short-term development,
combination of spacecraft and ground equipment, and
coordinated development. The Chinese government develops
space technology, application and science through
integrated planning and rational arrangement in the aim
of promoting the comprehensive and coordinated
development of China's space activities.
II. Present Situation
Since its birth in 1956, China's space program has gone
through several important stages of development: arduous
pioneering, overall development in all related fields,
reform and revitalization, and international
cooperation. Now it has reached a considerable scale and
level. A comprehensive system of research, design,
production and testing has been formed. Space centers
capable of launching satellites of various types and
manned spacecraft as well as a TT&C (Telemetry Tracking
and Command) network consisting of ground stations
across the country and tracking and telemetry ships are
in place. A number of satellite application systems have
been established and have yielded remarkable social and
economic benefits. A space science research system of a
fairly high level has been set up and many innovative
achievements have been made. And a contingent of
qualified space scientists and technicians has come to
the fore.
China's space industry was developed on the basis of
weak infrastructure industries and a relatively backward
scientific and technological level, under special
national and historical conditions. In the process of
carrying out space activities independently, China has
opened a road of development unique to its national
situation and scored a series of important achievements
with relatively small input and within a relatively
short span of time. Now, China ranks among the most
advanced countries in the world in many important
technological fields, such as satellite recovery,
multi-satellite launch with a single rocket, rockets
with cryogenic fuel, strap-on rockets, launch of
geo-stationary satellites and TT&C. Significant
achievements have also been gained in the development
and application of remote- sensing satellites and
telecommunications satellites, and in manned spacecraft
testing and space micro-gravity experiments.
Space Technology
1. Man-made Satellites: China's first man-made
satellite, the " Dongfanghong-I" was successfully
developed and launched on April 24, 1970, making China
the fifth country in the world with such capability. By
October 2000, China had developed and launched 47
satellites of various types, with a flight success rate
of over 90% . Altogether, four satellite series have
been initially developed in China, namely, recoverable
remote-sensing satellites, "DFH ( Dongfanghong)"
telecommunications satellites, "FY (Fengyun)"
meteorological satellites and "SJ (Shijian)" scientific
research and technological experiment satellites. The
"ZY (Ziyuan)" earth resource satellite series will come
into being soon. China is the 3rd country in the world
to have mastered the technology of satellite recovery,
with the success rate reaching the advanced
international level, and the 5th country capable of
developing and launching geo-stationary
telecommunications satellites independently. The major
technological index of China's meteorological and earth
resource satellites has reached the international level
of the early 1990s. The six telecommunications, earth
resources and meteorological satellites developed and
launched by China in the past few years are in stable
operation, and have generated remarkable social and
economic returns.
2. Launching Vehicles: China has independently developed
the " Long-March" rocket group, containing 12 types of
launching vehicles capable of launching satellites to
near-earth, geo- stationary and sun-synchronous orbits.
The largest launching capacity of the "Long-March"
rockets has reached 9,200 kg for near- earth orbit, and
5,100 kg for geo-stationary transfer orbit, able to
basically meet the demands of customers of all kinds.
Since 1985, when the Chinese government announced
putting the "Long- March" rockets into the international
commercial launching market, China has launched 27
foreign-made satellites into space, thus acquiring a
share of the international commercial launching market.
Up to now, the "Long-March" rockets have accomplished 63
launches, and made 21 consecutive successful flights
from October 1996 to October 2000.
3. Launching Sites: China has set up three launching
sites -- in Jiuquan, Xichang and Taiyuan -- which have
successfully accomplished various kinds of test flights
of launching vehicles and launches of a variety of
satellites and experimental spacecraft. China's
spacecraft launching sites are capable of making both
domestic satellite launches and international commercial
launches, and carrying out international space
cooperation in other fields.
4. TT&C: China has established an integrated TT&C
network comprising TT&C ground stations and ships, which
has successfully accomplished TT&C missions for
near-earth orbit and geo-stationary orbit satellites,
and experimental spacecraft. This network has acquired
the capability of sharing TT&C resources with
international network, and its technology has reached
the international advanced level.
5. Manned Spaceflight: Initiating its manned spaceflight
program in 1992, China has developed a manned spacecraft
and high- reliability launching vehicle, carried out
engineering studies in aerospace medicine and aerospace
life science, selected reserve astronauts and developed
equipment for aerospace remote-sensing and aerospace
scientific experiments. China's first unmanned
experimental spacecraft -- "Shenzhou"- was successfully
launched and recovered November 20-21, 1999, symbolizing
a breakthrough in the basic technologies of manned
spacecraft and a significant step forward in the field
of manned spaceflight.
Space Applications
China attaches importance to developing all kinds of
application satellites and satellite application
technology, and has made great progress in satellite
remote-sensing, satellite telecom and satellite
navigation. Remote-sensing and telecommunications
satellites account for about 71% of the total number of
satellites developed and launched by China. These
satellites have been widely utilized in all aspects of
economy, science and technology, culture, and national
defense, and yielded remarkable social and economic
returns. Related departments of the state have also made
active use of foreign application satellites for
application technology studies, with satisfactory
results.
1. Satellite Remote-Sensing: China began to use domestic
and foreign remote-sensing satellites in the early
1970s, and eventually carried out studies, development
and promotion of satellite remote-sensing application
technology, which has been widely applied in
meteorology, mining, surveying, agriculture, forestry,
water conservancy, oceanography, seismology and urban
planning. To date, China has established the National
Remote- Sensing Center, National Satellite Meteorology
Center, China Resources Satellite Application Center,
Satellite Oceanic Application Center and China
Remote-Sensing Satellite Ground Station, as well as
satellite remote-sensing application institutes under
related ministries of the State Council, some provinces
and municipalities and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
These institutions have made use of both domestic and
foreign remote-sensing satellites to carry out
application studies in weather forecasting, territorial
survey, agricultural output assessment, forest survey,
natural disaster monitoring, maritime forecasting, urban
planning and mapping. The regular operation of the
meteorological satellite ground application system, in
particular, has greatly improved the accuracy of
forecasting disastrous weather and significantly reduced
the economic losses of the state and people from such
weather.
2. Satellite Telecommunications: In the mid-1980s, China
began to utilize domestic and foreign telecommunications
satellites, and developed related technology to meet the
increasing demands of the development of
telecommunications, broadcasting and education. In the
field of fixed telecom service, China has built scores
of large and medium-sized satellite telecom earth
stations, with more than 27,000 international satellite
telephone channels connected to more than 180 countries
and regions worldwide. The establishment of the domestic
satellite public communication network, with more than
70,000 satellite telephone channels, has initially
solved the problem of communication in remote areas. The
VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) communication
service has developed very rapidly in recent years.
There are now in the country 30 domestic VSAT
communication service providers and 15, 000 small
station users, including over 6,300 two-way users. More
than 80 specialized communication networks for dozens of
departments like finance, meteorology transportation,
oil, water resources, civil aviation, power, public
health and the media have been built, with over 10,000
VSAT. A satellite TV broadcasting system covering the
whole world and a satellite TV education system covering
the whole country have been established. China started
to use satellites for TV broadcasting in 1985, and has
formed a satellite transmission network with 33
telecommunications satellite transponders responsible
for transmitting 47 TV programs and educational TV
programs of CCTV (China Central Television) and local TV
stations throughout the country, 32 programs of the
Central Broadcasting Station at home and abroad, and
about 40 local broadcasting programs. Ever since the
opening of satellite education TV broadcasting programs
over a dozen years ago, more than 30 million people have
got college or technical secondary school education and
training through it. China has also set up a satellite
live broadcasting experimental platform to transmit CCTV
and local satellite TV programs by digital compression
to the vast rural areas which wireless TV broadcasting
cannot cover. In this way, China's TV broadcasting
coverage has been greatly increased. China has about
189,000 satellite TV broadcasting receiving stations.
The China broad-band multi-media education satellite
transmission network has also been established on the
satellite live broadcasting experimental platform to
provide comprehensive remote education and information
technology services.
3. Satellite Navigation: In the early 1980s, China began
to utilize other countries' navigation satellites and
develop the application technology of satellite
navigation and positioning, which is now widely used in
many fields including land survey, ship navigation,
aircraft navigation, earthquake monitoring, geological
calamity monitoring, forest fire prevention and control,
and urban traffic control. After joining the
COSPAS-SARSAT in 1992, China established the Chinese
Mission Control Center, thus greatly improving the
capability of the emergency alarm service for ships,
aircraft and vehicles.
Space Science
China started to explore the upper atmosphere using
rockets and balloons in the early 1960s. In the early
1970s, China began to utilize the scientific exploration
and technological testing satellites of the "SJ" group
in a series of space explorations and studies, and
acquired a large amount of valuable data about the space
environment. Research on space weather forecasting and
related international cooperation have also been carried
out in recent years. In the late 1980s, recoverable
remote-sensing satellites were employed for various
kinds of aerospace scientific experiments, and have
yielded satisfactory achievements in crystal and protein
growth, cell cultivation and crop breeding. Innovative
achievements have been scored in the study of basic
theory of space science. The establishment of advanced
and open state-level laboratories specializing in space
physics, micro-gravity and space life science, and the
founding of the Space Payload Application Center provide
the country with the basic ability to support aerospace
scientific experiments. The "SJ" group has been used in
recent years to detect charged particles in terrestrial
space and their effects. In addition, the first
micro-gravity space experiment on double-layer fluid was
accomplished, in which remote operation of space
experiments was realized.
With the establishment and improvement of China's
socialist market economic mechanism, the state guides
the development of space activities through
macro-control, makes overall plans for the development
of space technology, space application and space
science, promotes the R&D and system integration of
important space technologies and the application of
space science and technology in the fields of economy,
science and technology, culture, and national defense.
The state has also carried out reforms in the space
science and technology industry to achieve sustainable
development of the space industry. The state has
strengthened legislation work and policy management,
enacted laws and regulations and promulgated industrial
policies for the space industry to ensure orderly and
standardized development of space activities. Research
institutions, industrial enterprises, commercial
enterprises and institutions of higher learning are
encouraged to make full use of their advantages and
participate in space activities under the guidance of
the state's space policies. The state supports
renovation in space technology and the establishment of
a space technological renovation system with Chinese
characteristics, with the aim to improving the self-
renovation capability and industrialization of space
activities. Space activities for public welfare and R&D
work with commercial prospects are also supported by the
state, and the state's supervision over space activities
is being continuously strengthened. The China National
Space Administration (CNSA) is China's governmental
organization responsible for the management of
satellites for civilian use and inter-governmental space
cooperation with other countries.
III. Future Development
The 21st century will witness vigorous development of
space activities across the world. China is drafting a
space development strategy and plans oriented to the
21st century according to the actual demands and
long-term target of national development to spur the
growth of the space industry.
Development Targets
The short-term development targets (for the next decade)
are:
-- To build up an earth observation system for long-term
stable operation. The meteorological satellites,
resource satellites, oceanic satellites and disaster
monitoring satellites can develop into an earth
observation system for long-term stable operation to
conduct stereoscopic observation and dynamic monitoring
of the land, atmosphere, and oceanic environments of the
country, the peripheral regions and even the whole
globe;
-- To set up an independently operated satellite
broadcasting and telecommunications system. Positive
support will be given to the development of commercial
broadcasting and telecommunications satellites such as
geo-stationary telecom satellites and TV live
broadcasting satellites with long operating life, high
reliability and large capacity, so as to form China's
satellite telecom industry;
-- To establish an independent satellite navigation and
positioning system. This will be achieved by setting up
a navigation and positioning satellite group step by
step and developing a relevant application system, which
will eventually bring into being China's satellite
navigation and positioning industry;
-- To upgrade the overall level and capacity of China's
launch vehicles. This will be achieved by improving the
performance and reliability of the "Long-March" group,
developing the next generation of launch vehicles with
non-toxic, non-polluting, high- performance and low-cost
qualities, forming a new group of launch vehicles and
strengthening the capability of providing international
commercial launching services;
-- To realize manned spaceflight and establish an
initially complete R&D and testing system for manned
space projects;
-- To establish a coordinated and complete national
satellite remote-sensing application system by building
various related ground application systems through
overall planning, setting up a remote-sensing data
receiving, processing and distributing system covering
the whole country for data sharing, and forming a fairly
complete application system in major application fields
of satellite remote-sensing; and
-- To develop space science and explore outer space by
developing a scientific research and technological
experiment satellite group of the next generation,
strengthening studies of space micro-gravity, space
material science, space life science, space environment
and space astronomy, and carrying out pre-study for
outer space exploration centering on the exploration of
the moon.
The long-term development targets (for the next 20 years
or more) are as follows:
-- To achieve industrialization and marketization of
space technology and space applications. The exploration
and utilization of space resources shall meet a wide
range of demands of economic construction, state
security, science and technology development and social
progress, and contribute to the strengthening of the
comprehensive national strength;
-- To establish a multi-function and multi-orbit space
infrastructure composed of various satellite systems and
set up a satellite ground application system that
harmonizes spacecraft and ground equipment to form an
integrated ground-space network system in full, constant
and long-term operation in accordance with the overall
planning of the state;
-- To establish China's own manned spaceflight system
and carry out manned spaceflight scientific research and
technological experiments on a certain scale; and
-- To obtain a more important place in the world in the
field of space science with more achievements and carry
out explorations and studies of outer space.
Development Concepts
China develops its space activities with the following
approaches:
-- Accelerating the industrialization of space
technology and its application. Enterprises engaged in
space science and technology are guided and encouraged
to renovate institutions and technology, and establish
an operational mechanism geared toward both the domestic
and international markets, so as to speed up the
industrialization of space technology and its
applications step by step, with the stress on telecom
satellites and satellite telecom and launching vehicles.
-- Deploying space activities rationally. Space science,
technology and application shall be developed in a well-
coordinated manner through overall planning. The work in
these three fields will be given differentiated
importance from " preferential arrangement," "active
support" and "proper development" to "follow-up
studies," so as to ensure the comprehensive and
coordinated development of China's space industry.
-- Strengthening pre-study and technological
infrastructure construction. Efforts will be
concentrated on tackling key technological problems to
grasp core technology and attain independent
intellectual property rights. At the same time,
technological infrastructure construction will be
strengthened in the three aspects of space activities,
and international cooperation will be broadened to
sustain the development momentum of China's space
industry.
-- Speeding up the development of talented people in the
space industry and forming advantages in this regard.
Special policies will be adopted to promote space
education and train qualified personnel to foster a
contingent of young and highly qualified space
scientists and engineers. Efforts will be made to
publicize space knowledge, and motivate all sectors of
society to support the development of the space
industry.
-- Improving scientific management for better quality
and benefits. Since space activities involve huge
investments, high risks, sophisticated technology and
complicated systems, systems engineering and other
modern management tools shall be applied to promote
scientific management, increase system quality, lower
system risks and enhance comprehensive benefits.
IV. International cooperation
China persistently supports activities involving the
peaceful use of outer space, and maintains that
international space cooperation should be promoted and
strengthened on the basis of equality and mutual
benefit, mutual complementarity and common development.
Guiding Principles
The Chinese government holds that international space
cooperation should follow the fundamental principles
listed in the "Deceleration on International cooperation
on Exploring and Utilizing Outer Space for the Benefits
and Interests of All Countries, Especially in
Consideration of Developing Countries' Demands," which
was approved by the 51st General Assembly of the United
Nations in 1996. China adheres to the following
principles while carrying out international space
cooperation:
-- The aim of international space cooperation is to
peacefully develop and use space resources for the
benefit of all mankind.
-- International space cooperation should be carried out
on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, mutual
complementarity and common development, and the
generally accepted principles of international law.
-- The priority aim of international space cooperation
is to simultaneously increase the capability of space
development of all countries, particularly the
developing countries, and enable all countries to enjoy
the benefits of space technology.
-- Necessary measures should be adopted to protect the
space environment and space resources in the course of
international space cooperation.
-- The function of the United Nations Office of Outer
Space Affairs (OOSA) should be consolidated and the
outer space application programs of the United Nations
should be backed up.
Fundamental Policies
The Chinese government adopts the following policies in
developing international space cooperation:
-- Persisting in the independence and self-reliance
policy, carrying out active and pragmatic international
space cooperation to meet the needs of the national
modernization drive and the demands of the domestic and
international markets for space science and technology.
-- Supporting multilateral international cooperation on
the peaceful use of outer space within the framework of
the United Nations.
-- Attaching importance to the Asian-Pacific regional
space cooperation and supporting space cooperation in
other regions of the world.
-- Attaching importance to space cooperation with both
developed and developing countries.
-- Enhancing and supporting research institutions,
industrial enterprises and universities and colleges to
develop international space exchanges and cooperation in
different forms and at different levels under the
guidance of relevant state policies, laws and
regulations.
Important Events
China's participation in international space cooperation
started in the mid-1970s. During the last two decades or
more, China has joined bilateral, regional, multilateral
and international space cooperation in different forms,
such as commercial launching service, which have yielded
extensive achievements.
1. Bilateral cooperation: Since 1985, China has
successively signed inter-governmental or inter-agency
cooperative agreements, protocols or memorandums, and
established long-term cooperative relations with a dozen
countries, including the United States, Italy, Germany,
Britain, France, Japan, Sweden, Argentina, Brazil,
Russia, Ukraine and Chile. Bilateral space cooperation
is implemented in various forms, from making reciprocal
space programs and exchanges of scholars and
specialists, and sponsoring symposiums, to jointly
developing satellite or satellite parts, and providing
satellite piggyback service and commercial launching
service.
In 1993, a Sino-German joint venture -- EurasSpace GmbH
-- was established, and a contract on the development
and manufacture of Sinosat-1 was signed with DASA and
Aerospeciale in 1995. Sinosat-1, which was successfully
launched in 1998, was the first cooperative project on
satellite development between the Chinese and European
aerospace industries.
The collaboration between China and Brazil on the
project of an earth resources satellite is making good
progress, and the first such satellite was successfully
launched by China on October 14, 1999. In addition to
cooperation on complete satellites, China and Brazil are
cooperating in the areas of satellite technology,
satellite application and satellite components. The
cooperation between China and Brazil in the space sector
has set a good example for the developing countries in
"South-South cooperation" in the high-tech field.
2. Regional cooperation: China attaches great importance
to space cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. In
1992, China, Thailand, Pakistan and some other countries
jointly sponsored the "Asian-Pacific Multilateral Space
Technology cooperation Symposium. " Thanks to the
impetus of such regional cooperation, the governments of
China, Iran, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan
and Thailand signed the "Memorandum of Understanding on
cooperation in Small Multi-Mission Satellite and Related
Activities" in Thailand in April, 1998. Besides the
signatory countries, other countries in the Asia-Pacific
region may also join the cooperative project, which has
helped to enhance the progress of space technology and
space application in the Asia- Pacific region.
3. Multilateral cooperation: In June 1980, China
dispatched an observer delegation to the 23rd Meeting of
UN COPUOS for the first time, and on November 3, 1980,
China became a member country of the committee. Since
then, China has participated in all the meetings of UN
COPUOS and the annual meetings held by its Science,
Technology and Law Sub-committee. In 1983 and 1988,
China acceded to the "Treaty on Principles Governing the
Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer
Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies,"
"Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of
Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer
Space," "Convention on International Liability for
Damage Caused by Space Objects," and "Convention on
Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space," and
has strictly performed its responsibilities and
obligations.
China supports and has participated in the UN space
applications program. Since 1988, China has provided
other developing countries every year with scholarships
for long-term space technology training. In 1994,
together with ESCAP, China hosted in Beijing the first
Asian-Pacific regional "Ministerial Conference on Space
Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia and the
Pacific," and the "Beijing Declaration" issued after the
conference has had a far-reaching influence. In
September 1999, in collaboration with the UN and ESA,
the Chinese government held in Beijing the "Symposium on
Promoting Sustainable Agricultural Development with
Space Applications." From July to August 2000, together
with the OOSA of the UN and ESCAP, relevant departments
of the Chinese government opened the Short-term Training
Course for Asia-Pacific Multilateral cooperation in
Space Technology and Applications. Trainees from ten
developing countries in the Asia- Pacific region
attended the course.
The issue of space debris is a big challenge to further
expansion of space activities. The relevant departments
of China pay great attention to the problem, and have
carried out research on this issue with related
countries since the beginning of the 1980s. In June
1995, CNSA acceded to the Inter-Agency Space Debris
Coordination Committee. China will continuously make
efforts to explore, together with other countries, ways
and means to mitigate and reduce space debris, and
promote international cooperation on this issue.
In addition, China has participated in multilateral
cooperative projects, such as "Committee on Earth
Observation Satellites," " World Weather Monitoring,"
"UN Decade of Disaster Mitigation," and "International
Solar-Terrestrial Physics."
4. Commercial Launching Service: Ever since the Chinese
government made the declaration in 1985 that China's
"Long March" launching vehicles would serve the
international market and provide international satellite
launching service, up to October 2000, China had
successfully launched 27 foreign-made satellites for
users in Pakistan, Australia, Sweden, the United States,
the Philippines, as well as domestic users. The service
of "Long March " launching vehicles in the international
satellite launching market is a beneficial supplement to
international commercial satellite launching services,
and it has provided foreign clients with new options.
Priority cooperation Areas
The Chinese government will continuously render support
to international exchanges and cooperation in space
technology, space applications and space science, with
priority being given to cooperation in the following
areas:
-- Actively enhancing multilateral cooperation in space
technology and applications in the Asian-Pacific region,
and promoting regional economic growth and environmental
and natural calamity monitoring with space technology.
-- Supporting Chinese space enterprises to participate
in international space commercial launching services in
line with the principles of equality, equity and
reciprocity.
-- Giving support to using China's mature space
technology and space application technology to carry out
cooperation with other developing countries and provide
services to cooperating countries on the basis of mutual
benefit.
-- Supporting international exchanges and cooperation in
earth environment monitoring, space environmental
exploration, and studies of micro-gravity science, space
physics and space astronomy, particularly international
exchanges and cooperation in micro-gravity fluid
physics, space materials science, space life science and
space biology.
This
material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin
Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of
International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the
opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or
its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by
MIIS.
