China's Endeavors In Space Pose No Threat To Other Countries - Foreign Ministry

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th April, 2021) China's capabilities in the space industry are not directed against other countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday.

The US intelligence community said in its annual threat assessment report on Tuesday that although Russia currently remained the United States' main rival in space, China was stepping up its efforts to overtake others in military, economic, and national prestige.

"China's exploration of outer space is rational, and proceeds from the economic, social, scientific, technical and security needs of the state. Our possibilities do not pose a threat to any country and do not run counter to existing international obligations," Zhao told reporters.

The diplomat noted that the US intelligence report offered a one-sided interpretation of China's space potential and promoted speculation on the Chinese threat.

"This is just an excuse for the United States to become the hegemon in outer space. In fact, the United States is currently the biggest threat in outer space," Zhao said, adding that Beijing had always opposed the militarization of outer space.

On April 12, the 60th anniversary of the first Soviet cosmonaut's space flight, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow called for talks to create a legally binding international instrument that would ban the deployment of any type of weapons in space. The minister offered to take a Russian-Chinese draft treaty submitted to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva in 2014 as a starting-point.