China is making “enormous strides” in advancing its space programme over a short period of time but the likelihood of any significant co-operation with the US over the near-term is slim, the top US space official said on Monday. “We were very impressed with what we saw,” Michael Griffin, head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), said after meetings with China’s top space authorities. “[And] we have seen only a portion of the overall programme.”His comments signify that China, only the third nation to put a human into orbit, is determined to continue investing vast human and financial resources into space-related projects, which Beijing’s leaders view as a barometer of scientific progress.
Mr Griffin, the first Nasa administrator to visit China, said US and Chinese space officials have only been working together on data sharing and climate research. There were no immediate plans for bilateral co-operation on manned flights or space station projects but the possibility remained, he said.
“We do desire to have a closer relationship with China,” said Mr Griffin, who met Sun Laiyan, his Chinese counterpart at the China National Space Administration, and toured the country’s main space technology academy. Mr Griffin said one of the main hindrances to Sino-US space co-operation has been the fact that China’s space programme is backed the military. He also said China’s controls of missile technology – criticised by Washington as being insufficient – as a sticking point.
| Which means we'd be nuts to have any meaningful cooperation with the Chinese space program. Far better to do the occasional visit and learn what we can about their capabilities. |