European Space Agency (ESA) declared on Wednesday that ESA was ready to explore the possibility of cooperation in manned space flights with China, a country which had successfully accomplished two such flights.

"I would like very much to discuss this with our Chinese partners, if they make the proposal," affirmed ESA chief Jean- Jacques Dordain in the annual press briefing when referring to the potential cooperation in space exploration between the two parties.

"At the moment, we have a lot of cooperation with China in other space exploration domains, but not yet in the field of manned flights," indicated Dordain.

ESA carries out manned space missions through international cooperation, notably with the Russian Space Agency (RKA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2007)