China’s success in the aerospace industry is “of great importance to the development of world science and technology,” a Russian expert has said.

“China’s achievements in space exploration are impressive: several crews were successively sent to space; planetary rovers were operating on Mars and the Moon; plenty of satellites of different purposes were successfully launched, including navigation satellites, communication satellites and meteorological satellites,” Aleksandr Zheleznyakov, a Russian historian of astronautics and member of the Tsiolkovsky Russian Academy of Cosmonautics, said in an interview with Xinhua on Thursday.

The historian, who has published more than 30 aerospace history books, said that China’s aerospace industry is developing at a striking pace.

“It (China) has taken steps with confidence and has taken a leading position in many fields of aerospace,” Zheleznyakov said, adding that China has become a space power.

The expert said that China is committed to international cooperation in large and complex space projects, and its cooperation with Russia in the field of aerospace is growing.

The two sides are actively working “to integrate their global satellite navigation systems, to develop methods to remove space debris from the near-Earth orbit, to build ground-based infrastructure facilities, and to jointly train aerospace specialists,” Zheleznyakov said.

Bilateral cooperation in space can become the basis for broader international cooperation, he said.

Many others are not able to implement their own space programs, but are ready to participate in space exploration, he said, adding that China is a very attractive partner for many countries in this regard.

Source: Xinhua Finance Agency