Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said it is the Chinese people's persistent aspiration to develop the manned spaceflight technologies for the peaceful exploration and use of the outer space.

"The successful mission marked a milestone and great leap forward of China's space technology development as China became the third country capable of spacewalk," Wen said at the Beijing ground control center right after the landing of the Shenzhou-7 spacecraft.

Wen congratulated the taikonaut heroes and all the staff workers, saying that "it is a new important success in our nation's space technology field, and the country and the people will always treasure up your historical achievements."

The great success will also play a significant role for the development of the country's economy, technology and national defence, as well as for the promotion of national solidarity in the country's modernization drive, he said.

The Shenzhou-7 space module carrying three taikonauts landed safely by parachute Sunday afternoon in China's northern grassland, after a landmark spacewalk mission that leads the country further in its space exploration.

Astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming, and Jing Haipeng came back from a 68-hour flight, which included a 20-minute spacewalk on Saturday.

Other tasks of the mission included carrying out trials of satellite data relay and releasing a 40-kilogram companion satellite, which was left in the space with the orbital module and the extravehicular space suits.

China became the third country after the United States and Russia to send a human into orbit in 2003, followed with a two-man mission in 2005. The successful spacewalk made China the third to master the extravehicular activity (EVA) technology.

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2008)