דער שטערן הימל איז ווייטאג און גרעניץ, און נאר דורך ארבעטן אינאיינעם קענען מיר פארן שטענדיג פארויס

"Looking up, I see the immensity of the cosmos; bowing my head, I look at the multitude of the world. The gaze flies, the heart expands, the joy of the senses can reach its peak, and indeed, this is true happiness.” A tweet of this quote from a famous ancient Chinese composition together with photos taken from space was posted by Samantha Cristoforretti, an Italian female astronaut when she was passing over China during her mission at the International Space Station. Conveying humanity’s shared aspiration for the universe, this tweet was liked by citizens around the world, writes Cao Zhongming, Ambassador of China to Belgium.

The outer space is a commonwealth of humanity. To explore, develop and utilize outer space peacefully is the pursuit of humankind and a mission that China is committed to. On November 21, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to the 2022 United Nations/China 2nd Global Partnership Workshop on Space Exploration and Innovation, in which he noted that China is willing to work with all countries to strengthen exchanges and cooperation to jointly explore the mysteries of the universe, make peaceful use of outer space, and promote space technology to better benefit people around the world. At the Workshop, the China National Space Administration issued an action statement on China’s global space exploration and innovation partnership, outlining China’s plan, initiative and actions for mutually beneficial cooperation.

In recent years, China has made active efforts in space exploration. Steady progress has been made in space infrastructure, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System was completed and put into operation, the high-resolution Earth Observation System was basically completed, the three-step lunar exploration program was successfully concluded, the Tianwen-1 mission achieved the leap from the Earth-Moon system to interplanetary exploration, China’s space station construction mission was completed as scheduled ... and the list goes on. Every step in China’s space development has contributed to its self-reliance and strength in science and technology. On top of that, China has stepped up international exchanges and cooperation in the field of outer space and achieved more outcomes.

Several days ago, China’s Shenzhou-15 manned spaceflight mission was successfully completed, marking the smooth transition of the Chinese space station from the construction phase to the operation one. The completion of China’s space station is not only an important milestone in China’s space endeavour, but also a pioneering contribution from China to the peaceful use of outer space by humankind. During the research and construction period of the space station, China has always adhered to the principles of peaceful use, equality, mutual benefit, and common development, and has carried out various exchanges and cooperation with space agencies of other countries and many international organizations. At present, a number of space science application projects jointly selected by China, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the European Space Agency are being implemented as planned, and related payloads will be launched to get into China’s space station for experiments next year, including one named “tumour in space” in which a team of Belgian scientists are involved.

Outer space is a common domain of humanity. We firmly believe that only by making space exploration a common mission for all humankind and strengthening exchanges and cooperation within the framework of the UN, can we better harness the strengths of each country, deepen human knowledge about the universe and promote the progress of human civilization. China has signed space cooperation agreements or memorandums of understanding with Belgium and other countries, as well as different regions and international organizations. Within bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms, China has actively carried out international cooperation in space science, space technology, space applications and other fields. Moving forward, China will continue to uphold the vision of building a human community with a shared future and develop its strength in space technology. We will continue to pursue open and shared development, work with countries and regions committed to the peaceful use of outer space, carry out more in-depth exchanges and cooperation, and jointly safeguard outer space security to see that China’s achievements in space science and technology will make new and greater contributions to the protection of Earth, the improvement of people’s well-being, and the progress of human civilization.

שער דעם אַרטיקל: