China praised for opening up to space cooperation

China's status in the international space community is rising as it becomes an active and equal partner, according to Christian Feichtinger, executive director of the International Astronautical Federation.

"We've seen tremendous changes in China, not only in space technology, but also in opening up to the international community," he says.

China's rise to the forefront of space exploration has coincided with its increased involvement on the broader international front, culminating in the country holding the rotating presidency of this year's G20.

The IAF, founded in 1951, has more than 300 members in 66 countries, including some Chinese institutions. Its main missions are to promote cooperation, advance international development, share knowledge, recognize achievements, prepare the workforce of tomorrow and raise awareness on a global scale.

Feichtinger says it's fair to say China has been completing these missions one by one over the past decade.

In August, China launched the world's first quantum communication satellite, Micius, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on a Long March 2-D rocket.

This year also saw the inaugural launch of the Long March 7 rocket from Wenchang, Hainan province, which was a turning point in China's space exploration, according to Feichtinger.

Not only did the launch take the space industry to a new level, but also consolidated China's position in the international space community, he says.

"China has positioned itself today as a player in the technology field that is not repeating what others have done before, but is able to work and go on its own development path and come up with innovative solutions," he adds.

He believes these solutions will complement the assets that the global space community already has.

In 2013, China held the International Astronautical Congress with the IAF in Beijing.

"For the first time we saw that China is totally opening up to the international space community, and we were excited to see that we had a record 3,700 participants at this congress from around the world."

The development of China's space industry advancing quickly, accompanied by strong scientific technology, such as "the first manned launch, the first extravehicular activity, the first docking, the first space station module, and the first manned space station", Feichtinger says.

"China is following a well-defined path, and is following this path very thoroughly, in the area of human space flight, deep-space exploration and navigation with (its independently developed) Beidou navigation system.

"China has already taken its position as a space power in addition to traditional space powers like the United States and Russia. The important thing is these actors are willing to cooperate."

China already plays an important role, "but space cooperation alone won't be a recipe for success, there will always be some competition, which is good and necessary", he adds. "The important thing is to find a right balance between cooperation and competition."

Fay Cody contributed to this story.

tuoyannan@chinadaily.com.cn