Huge room for China-Russia cooperation in space

China and Russia have good mechanism for cooperation in space and aerospace, and the room for cooperation is "huge", according to the head of China's space administration.

China and Russia have an outline for cooperation in this sector and cooperative projects have been conducted smoothly, Xu Dazhe, director of China National Space Administration, said at a press conference on Friday in response to a question on this topic.

Xu said the two countries are recently cooperating on issues such as astronautic dynamics and spaceflight electronic components.

China and Russia are working together to explore the universe and hopefully the two countries will improve aerospace technology and make better use of resources, Xu said.

Also, Xu said China's efforts in developing aerospace sector have always been open and transparent.

Citing plots in Hollywood blockbuster "The Martian", Xu said it may indicate that scientists in the United States are willing to cooperate with Chinese counterparts on relevant fields.

The official said that despite some "well-known" reasons that hold back such cooperation, a dialogue mechanism has been established between China and the United States and communications will be carried on via this channel.

The official stressed that China follows the civilian-military integration strategy in the aerospace sector, and that it is natural for China to use space resources for national defense and world peace purposes.

The press conference was held ahead of the China's first Space Day on April 24 to mark the launch of the country's first satellite 46 years ago. Endi