President Hu Jintao sent a congratulatory letter to a conference celebrating the 50th anniversary of China's aerospace industry yesterday.

 

Hu said that the aerospace industry is a significant symbol of the nation's strength. "We have made great achievements including developing the nuclear bomb, missiles, artificial satellites and manned space flights, and have established an independent and complete system for the aerospace industry and scientific research," he said.

 

As China's economic and social development progresses, there are bright prospects for the aerospace industry, he said.

 

Premier Wen Jiabao, who was present at the meeting, said that the development of China's aerospace industry had been based on self-reliance and innovation.

 

He asked Chinese scientists and engineers to form an innovation system for space science and technology and acquire more intellectual property rights in key space areas.

 

Wen also called for more international exchanges and cooperation in aerospace development.

 

China has signed 16 international space cooperation deals and memorandums with 13 countries, space agencies and international organizations over the past five years.

 

The country will prioritize collaborations in such areas as astronomy research, space physics, micro-gravity science, space life science, lunar exploration and planetary exploration, space officials said.

 

China began developing space technology in 1956, when the country opened its first institute for missile and rocket research, the No.5 Research Institute attached to the Ministry of National Defense, with scientist Qian Xuesen as its first director.

 

The country launched its first manned spacecraft, Shenzhou V, into orbit in October 2003, making it the third nation after the former Soviet Union and the US to send a man into space.

 

The Shenzhou VI manned spacecraft completed a five-day flight in October last year with two astronauts on board carrying out space-based experiments. It was the first time Chinese astronauts had engaged in experiments in space, another major achievement in the sphere of manned space flight.

 

(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily October 14, 2006)