China is making every effort in achieving manned lunar landing by 2030 and will invite astronauts from other countries to participate in the mission, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Wednesday.

The agency made the remarks at a press conference, revealing the country's Shenzhou-17 mission to be launched at 11:14 a.m. Thursday.

As the moon-landing mission progresses and when "necessary conditions are met," "we will invite foreign astronauts, just like today, to participate in the lunar landing mission and jointly explore the vast universe," said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA.

It extended an invitation and welcomed all countries and regions committed to the peaceful use of outer space to cooperate with and participate in the country's space station missions.

China now has a near-Earth manned space station, a complete manned shuttle transportation system and a mature astronaut selection, training and support system, said Lin, adding that it is now able to carry out crewed missions on a regular basis with a frequency of twice a year. 

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