China's spokesman Wang Wenbin presided over a regular press conference on the 22nd.
A reporter asked: According to reports, US Ambassador to China Burns recently said that China is not willing to cooperate with the United States on lunar exploration, and that the space field will become an arena for the two countries. Do you have any comment?
Wang Wenbin:China has always been committed to exploring and using outer space for peaceful purposes, and is willing to carry out space exchanges and cooperation with other countries on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, peaceful use and inclusive development, and actively promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind in the field of outer space.
On the issue of exchanges and cooperation with the US in the field of space, China has always maintained an open attitude, and has established mechanisms with the US side, such as the Working Group on Cooperation in Earth Science and Space Science and the China-US Civil Space Dialogue. However, the United States views its space cooperation with China with a Cold War mentalityChina has introduced domestic laws such as the Wolf Clause, the 2021 U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, and the 2022 U.S. Competition Act to restrict and obstruct exchanges and cooperation between the two sides in the aerospace field, and even impose unilateral sanctions on relevant Chinese companies. This is the root cause of the current difficulties in cooperation between the two sides.
In the field of lunar and deep space exploration, China has been actively promoting international cooperation. Recently, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) released guidelines for the distribution of lunar samples and an announcement on cooperation opportunities for the Chang'e-8 mission. We welcome applications from researchers from all over the world, including the United States, in accordance with the relevant procedures. If the US side really wants to promote exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States in the field of space, it should repeal the relevant bills, stop making irresponsible remarks, and take practical measures to remove the stumbling blocks on the road of cooperation between the two sides.
*: China News Network.