Xi Jinping calls for accelerating progress in China's space endeavors

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday encouraged personnel in China's space industry to continue to work hard and accelerate progress in space endeavors.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, met with representatives of space scientists and engineers who participated in the research and development of the Chang'e-6 lunar mission at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Xi noted that the achievements of the lunar exploration project embody the wisdom and hard work of several generations of Chinese aerospace workers and demonstrate the remarkable accomplishment the country has made in scientific and technological self-reliance in recent years.

He urged efforts to promote the spirit of lunar exploration, characterized by "chasing dreams, daring to explore, collaborating to overcome challenges and achieving win-win cooperation," to further enhance the national confidence and pride of all Chinese people and build up a great force for comprehensively promoting the building of a strong country and realizing national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization.

The Chang'e-6 probe was launched from China on May 3. On June 25, its returner landed in north China, bringing back 1,935.3 grams of samples from the far side of the moon.

Xi noted that Chang'e-6, for the first time in human history, collected samples from the moon's far side, making breakthroughs with several key technologies and marking another landmark achievement in China's endeavors in space, science and technology. It is an important milestone for China's lunar exploration project, he said.

Over the past 20 years, the lunar exploration project has focused on key core technologies and achieved fruitful results in scientific discovery, technological innovation, engineering practice, achievement application and international cooperation. It has blazed a path of high-quality and cost-effective lunar exploration, making a major contribution to the development of China's space industry and human space exploration, Xi said.

Xi noted that over the past 75 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the space industry has grown from weak to strong and achieved historic, high-quality and leap-forward development.

"To explore the vast cosmos, develop the space industry and build China into a space power is our eternal dream," said Xi.

He said outer space is a shared frontier of all of humanity and space exploration is a common endeavor of mankind.

Noting China's lunar exploration program has consistently adhered to the principles of equality and mutual benefit, peaceful use and win-win cooperation, Xi said the Chang'e mission belongs to China and all humankind.

The Chang'e program provides a broad stage for international scientific and technological cooperation, contributing China's wisdom and strength to global deep space exploration, he said.

He also said China will promote various forms of international space cooperation and share the fruits of its development with other countries to benefit mankind.

Stressing that the exploration of space knows no bounds, Xi called on comrades in the aerospace sector to continue their efforts and seize the momentum to conduct meticulous scientific research on lunar samples, successfully carry out major space projects, such as deep space exploration, promote comprehensive development in space science, space technology, and space applications, and make new contributions to the goal of building a strong aerospace nation.

(With input from Xinhua)