spacetoday.net: China participates in NASA exploration visions discussions

Posted: Sat, Nov 20, 2004, 12:51 PM ET (1751 GMT)
A NASA-sponsored workshop this week on international cooperation on the Vision for Space Exploration included representatives of China, the first time that nation's space efforts have been officially publicly considered for participation in the program. Officials with the China National Space Administration (CNSA) attended the three-day workshop in Washington to discuss the plans of various national space agencies and the roles these agencies could play in NASA's exploration program. NASA officials said the participation by the CNSA was "somewhat precedent-setting", and that the State Department had given their approval for the Chinese attendance at the conference. The conference led to no concrete commitments by China or other nations to cooperate with the US on the exploration effort, but parties agreed to further consider various possible roles.