China will carry out at least four manned space missions over a five-year period to build a space station, China's first astronaut Yang Liwei said Tuesday.

China's first astronaut Yang Liwei gives a speech at China Foreign Affairs University on December 8, 2016. /VCG Photo

Two manned space missions will be conducted in 2020, said Yang, deputy director of China's manned space program office, at the 2017 Global Space Exploration Conference which opened Tuesday in Beijing.

China plans to complete construction on a permanent space station by 2022, aiming to carry out around a dozen launch missions beforehand, said Yang.

He said the country would launch the first core module of the station in 2019, followed by launches of two experimental modules.

The space station will enable astronauts to stay in space for three months to half a year, he said.

Yang said that astronauts are currently preparing for the space station program and that China will start selecting new astronauts this year.

(Source: Xinhua)