Russia, China may cooperate in developing heavy space rocket — diplomat

BEIJING, June 21. /TASS/. Russia and China are actively discussing the prospects of cooperation in space rocket engine-making, creating a heavy rocket, space stations and making long-distance space flights, Russia’s Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov told TASS on Tuesday.

"Our country has substantial potential accumulated in the sphere of engine-making. This is a well-known fact," the ambassador said.

"I would emphasize cooperation in outer space activity as a whole rather than a specific delivery of a batch of goods. The point is not to deliver specific equipment but to organize long-term mutually advantageous cooperation of the sides, which are objectively close to each other from the viewpoint of technical and technological compatibility."

"The Chinese space industry was largely created with account taken of our technical developments. While it has long reached the level of independent development and made achievements in recent years in the sphere of Chinese cosmonautics both manned and unmanned, the field for cooperation remains quite broad. This is, perhaps, the main thing. The delivery of rocket engines is quite possible and is viewed both by us and our Chinese partners," he ambassador said.

According to the ambassador, "in a perspective, cooperation is perceptible in the field of designing a heavy rocket and establishing interaction in the sphere of space stations and long-distance flights."

"This is a very promising sphere in whose development both the Russian and Chinese sides are interested. But at the same time, what is very important for us is the protection of the rights of intellectual property along with generally-accepted international legal aspects of this activity," the ambassador said.

"This cooperation is of purely peaceful, civilian nature and will finally benefit the entire humankind rather than only the participating states," the Russian ambassador to China said.