US space officials will get a peek behind the closely guarded doors of China's space program next week during a visit that many believe is more about diplomacy than cooperation in technology.
US President George W. Bush asked NASA Administrator Michael Griffin to go to China last spring, following a visit from Chinese President Hu Jintao (
"This is a get-acquainted session and it's nothing more," Griffin said earlier this week.
The US has never had significant space discussions with China, although both countries, along with Russia, are the only nations that can launch people into orbit.
Missiles
The chief obstacle to more space cooperation has been the military influence over China's space program. The military's presence proved dicey for some US firms that tried to work with the Chinese in the late 1990s and early 2000s on launching satellites. They were accused by the US government of giving the Chinese satellite and rocket technology that could be used for intercontinental missiles.
NASA says there will not likely be space cooperation agreements with China like the one the US space agency produced from Griffin's visit to India in May. The US space agency has multiple agreements with other spacefaring nations, most notably Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan in building and operating the international space station.
The only areas where the US and China might work together are in exchanging data on earth science, managing the radio frequency spectrum, and controlling orbital debris, one NASA official suggested.
Some experts, though, doubt the US would gain much from cooperating with China in space, especially since the US program is so much more advanced.
James Lewis, director of technology policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, described the NASA visit as merely a "goodie bag" offered by Bush during Hu's visit.
"Talking is swell ... as long as we get something in exchange other than that warm, fuzzy glow of knowing we're all friends," Lewis said. "I don't know what we get out of cooperation with the Chinese. I know what they get out of it -- they get prestige. Maybe they get a little help with technology and spaceflight."
But Eligar Sadeh, a professor of space studies at the University of North Dakota, said there are always benefits from international cooperation and points to US-Russia space cooperation as an example. During the two-and-a-half years that NASA's shuttle fleet was grounded after the Columbia disaster in 2003, the US relied on the Russian Soyuz vehicle to ferry US astronauts to the space station.
NASA's involvement in the space station program "probably would have been imperiled, if not outright terminated, had it not been for the Russian involvement," Sadeh said.
In a July interview, Griffin described the trip as the first steps toward a more "routine relationship" with China.
`Strategic nation'
"China is a strategic nation in this world," Griffin said. "If they have reached the point where they're beginning to undertake significant activities in space flight, I think it's only to our benefit to explore those possibilities with them."
China has taken significant steps in the past five years, and its ambitious manned space program is a source of pride for its Communist leaders. China put its first astronaut in orbit in 2003, followed by two more astronauts last year. Leaders of China's space program have expressed an interest in sending people to the moon and building their own space station. Earlier this month, Chinese and Russian leaders announced their intention to sign a cooperative agreement on moon exploration.
The US has its own plans to return astronauts to the moon and eventually go to Mars.
"The peaceful utilization of outer space is the common cause of mankind, and China is willing to cooperate with the US and other countries in the outer space field," said Qin Gang (
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese