On June 5, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Putin jointly signed the Joint Statement of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation on the Development of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the New Era in Moscow.

The statement pointed out that long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of space between China and Russia should be expanded and deepened on the basis of the implementation of the Sino-Russian space cooperation outline for 2018-2022, including cooperation in such key areas as launch vehicles and engines, lunar and deep space exploration, earth observation, aerospace electronic components, space debris monitoring and LEO satellite communication systems.

▲ President Xi Jinping and Russian President Putin jointly attended the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia. Sino-Russian space cooperation has a history of more than 60 years. As Chairman Xi Jinping said in his speech at the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, "In the years when the construction of new China was in full swing, a large number of Soviet experts assisted China, helped New China lay the foundation of industrialization with wisdom and sweat, and also wrote a good story about the friendship between the two peoples." The early development of China's space industry is closely related to the assistance of the Soviet Union.

Since the 1990s, China and Russia have carried out a series of practical cooperation in the field of space flight. Sino-Russian Prime Minister's Regular Meeting Committee has a sub-committee on space cooperation to coordinate space cooperation between the two sides.

Entering a new era, with the care of the two heads of state, Sino-Russian space cooperation and exchanges have opened a new page and achieved a series of fruitful results in the fields ofsatellite navigation, lunar and deep space exploration.

In March, 2013, President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Russia. Russia became the first country Xi Jinping visited as Chinese President. The heads of state of China and Russia jointly signed the Joint Statement of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation on Win-win Cooperation and Deepening Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, which states that positive measures should be taken to ensure the implementation and completion of the Sino-Russian Outline of Space Cooperation from 2013 to 2017.

In the following years, in a number of joint statements signed by the heads of state of China and Russia, the areas of space cooperation between the two countries were further clarified, such as basic space technology research, space-to-Earth observation, satellite navigation, deep space exploration and manned space flight.

In 2017, the Joint Statement of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation on Further Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed by the heads of state of China and Russia made it clear that on the basis of peaceful use of outer space, China and Russia should strengthen cooperation in the field of space and implement cooperation in key projects such as rocket engines, earth observation, lunar exploration and deep space exploration, and space debris monitoring. Signing and promoting the implementation of the Outline of Sino-Russian Space Cooperation 2018-2022 and exploring new cooperation modes such as commercialization of space activities.

In November of that year, the Outline of Space Cooperation between the National Space Administration of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Aerospace State Group Corporation for 2018-2022 was officially signed. This is an important five-year plan. According to the agreement, the cooperation between China and Russia in the field of space will cover five areas: lunar and deep space development, special material development, cooperation in the field of satellite systems, remote sensing of the earth, and the search for spacecraft debris. Tass published an article saying that the cooperation plan will help both sides to set and achieve higher goals.

Just one month after the signing of the agreement, the Russian Federation Committee also approved the "Agreement on Technical Protection and Cooperation in the Field of Peaceful Research and Utilization of Space" signed by the Russian and Chinese governments. In an interview with Russian media, Russian parliamentarians and space experts believed that the specific results of the cooperation between the two major powers in the field of space would enhance their competitiveness in the global satellite market.

In March, 2018, Letter of Intention for Cooperation between China National Space Administration and Russian Aerospace State Group Corporation on Lunar and Deep Space Exploration was signed. The two sides will cooperate with each other on the moon missions they have confirmed and jointly set up a Sino-Russia lunar and deep space exploration data center.

In June of the same year, witnessed by the heads of state of China and Russia, the Memorandum of Understanding between the National Space Administration of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Aerospace State Group Corporation on Cooperation in the Field of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration was signed, which laid the foundation for the cooperation between the two sides in the field oflunar and deep space exploration.

▲ Schematic diagram of Beidou navigation satellite global network

In November, 2018, China and Russia signed the Agreement on Cooperation between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Peaceful Use of Beidou and Glonass Global Satellite Navigation System (hereinafter referred to as the "Cooperation Agreement"), which will provide legal and organizational guarantees for extensive cooperation between China and Russia in the field of satellite navigation. It is an important milestone to maximize the complementary and integrated development between the two systems and to rapidly promote the pragmatic implementation of cooperation projects, marking a new stage of cooperation between Beidou and Glonass.

▲ Sketch diagram of the soft landing of Change-4 probe on the far side of the moon

In January, 2019, officials from the China National Space Administration introduced at a press conference on the Chang-4 mission that China and Russia have also cooperated in the Chang-4 mission. China and Russia initially planned to cooperate in the Russian "LUNA - 26" mission and China's lunar Antarctic landing exploration mission. China hopes to carry out international cooperation and exchanges with Russia and other countries in equipment development, space applications, astronaut training and space medicine during the construction of the space station.

President Xi Jinping pointed out that "both China and Russia are at a critical stage of national development and should work hand in hand to achieve simultaneous revitalization." Striding into a new era, Sino-Russia space cooperation will continue to deepen and achieve more gratifying results.

Sources: Xinhuanet, people.com.cn and CNSA official websites