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Russia-China space ties
Russia will cooperate with China on space projects, but will not transfer sensitive technologies that could enable Beijing to become a rival in a future space race, the head of Russia's space agency said yesterday.
- AP
- Published: 00:00 December 27, 2006
Moscow: Russia will cooperate with China on space projects, but will not transfer sensitive technologies that could enable Beijing to become a rival in a future space race, the head of Russia's space agency said yesterday.
Federal Space Agency chief Anatoly Perminov said that Moscow and Beijing would cooperate in China's robotic missions to the moon. He added, however, that Russia would maintain restrictions on sharing technology.
"The Chinese are still some 30 years behind us, but their space programme has been developing very fast," Perminov said at a news conference. "They are quickly catching up with us."
Russia sold China the technology that formed the basis of its manned space programme, which launched its first astronaut in 2003 and two others in 2005. The Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft closely resembles the Russian Soyuz.
The next Chinese manned space flight is due next year.
Robot probe
China also wants to send up a space station and land a robot probe on the moon by 2010.
Perminov said that Russia would cooperate with China in space exploration strictly within the framework of a bilateral agreement that doesn't envisage exporting Russian space technologies.
"We aren't transferring any technologies to China now," Perminov said. "This issue has been under special control of the government."
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