China News Service, Beijing, December 12 (Reporter Ma Shuaisha) Recently, some media reported that US Ambassador to China Burns claimed that "China has no intention of cooperating with the United States in lunar exploration." In this regard, Xu Hongliang, spokesman for the China National Space Administration, told the media on the 22nd that China has always been a supporter of Sino-US space exchanges, and there are also strong calls in the United States for the cancellation of the "Wolf Clause" and the resumption of cooperation in lunar exploration and deep space. The U.S. government has repeatedly handled space cooperation with China with a Cold War mentality, and the root cause of China's inability to cooperate in space is actually in the United States.
Xu Hongliang said that the Chinese government has always been committed to exploring and using outer space for peaceful purposes, carrying out international space exchanges and cooperation on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, peaceful use and inclusive development, and actively promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind in the field of outer space. China attaches great importance to international cooperation in the field of space and has always adhered to an open and inclusive attitude towards space exchanges with the United States.
"But what puzzles me is that on the one hand, the United States keeps saying that it will cooperate and apply, and on the other hand, some people highly respect the 'Wolf Clause' that restricts cooperation with China's space industry, and have said on different occasions that the 'Wolf Clause' should be made permanent. I don't understand whether the US side is playing with words and playing ball. Xu Hongliang said.
Xu Hongliang said that in 2006, the space agencies of China and the United States established a working group mechanism for space cooperation in earth science and space science, and had many exchanges on areas of common interest. In 2011, the introduction of the "Wolf Clause" by the United States almost completely interrupted the exchanges between Chinese and American space agencies. In 2015, the U.S. side proposed that the U.S. State Department take the lead in establishing a China-U.S. civil space dialogue mechanism, and China has responded positively, holding three dialogue meetings so far, but the fourth meeting originally planned to be hosted by the U.S. side has not been held for a long time. China has repeatedly pushed the market to no avail.
Xu Hongliang pointed out that at present, the China National Space Administration has signed more than 50 cooperation agreements or memorandums of understanding with more than 170 countries, space agencies and international organizations on behalf of the Chinese government. Among them, there is not only cooperation with Russia, France and other space powers, but also cooperation with developing countries such as Brazil and Pakistan; There is cooperation in major lunar and deep space exploration projects such as Chang'e-<> and Tianwen-<>, as well as cooperation in earth observation such as the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite and the Sino-French Ocean Satellite.
Xu Hongliang said that China has never had any documents, regulations, or clauses restricting cooperation between China and the United States. Many colleagues in the international community have called on the United States to remove the stumbling block of the "Wolf Clause" and hope that the "Wolf Clause" will no longer be a tool for stirring up cold rice. We also call on people of insight in the United States to consider how to get rid of this obstacle. Space exploration never ends. For the sake of scientific research and the promotion of the common well-being of all mankind, we look forward to carrying out more extensive and in-depth international exchanges and cooperation with all countries in the world. (ENDS)