China has announced its intention to boost the cooperation between the two nations with regard to space exploration and other important fields with Pakistan with a Pakistani astronaut being appointed as a payload specialist to be a member of the Shenzhou-24 mission of China.
At a weekly press briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister’s spokesman Guo Jiakun has announced that China is willing to lift its old friendship with Pakistan to a new level by enhancing bilateral partnership in space science and other fields of importance.
The two countries would continue to deepen the longstanding partnership between them, he said, after which a Pakistani astronaut will be sent up with Shenzhou-24 to return to Earth with Shenzhou-23 after a short time in space.
The peaceful exploration and utilisation of outer space is a common desire of all people, the spokesperson said. China is in favour of international cooperation in space and is dedicated to building a shared future in space with other countries.
Guo called Pakistan and China “all-weather strategic partners” and said, for the first time in the Chinese manned space mission, the two countries’ astronauts would be working together on a Chinese spacecraft.
The development also opens the door to a critical milestone of the two nations that will celebrate 75 years of diplomatic ties.
The final choice of the Pakistani astronaut for the space mission has not been officially revealed yet, but Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Dawood have already been selected. Both are training at a high level in China to become astronauts.
The shift is indicative of the increasing partnership and cooperation between Islamabad and Beijing in the field of science and technology. China has been spending billions of dollars on its space programme and they want to get its astronauts on the Moon by 2030.
Along with this, cooperation in the Shenzhou programme could create fresh avenues for cooperation between the two countries in the fields of satellite technology, scientific research and space exploration as well.
