China and Russia hold talks on ‘peaceful’ use of outer space
- Space is one of the major emerging sectors where the two countries have been working to boost cooperation
China and Russia have held talks on the “peaceful use of outer space”, agreeing to boost cooperation in the sector.
Thursday’s meeting in Moscow covered areas such as “international legal regulation, as well as ensuring the long-term sustainability and safety of space activities” and the agenda of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, according to the Russian foreign ministry.
“An agreement was reached to strengthen coordination in this area both bilaterally and at specialised multilateral platforms,” the statement added.
China was represented by Ma Xinmin, director general of the Chinese foreign ministry’s department of treaty and law, who discussed “issues of common interest relating to the peaceful use of outer space” at the meeting, the first ministerial-level consultation of its kind.
At an earlier meeting in February the two countries “stressed the need to continue close cooperation and active joint efforts to prevent an arms race in outer space and its weaponisation”, according to Moscow.
The two countries have also been pushing for closer cooperation in other emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, critical materials and biosecurity that could define future geopolitical rivalries.
Outer space was one of the arenas for confrontation during the Cold War, when the Soviet Union and the United States developed and tested anti-satellite weaponry, and more recently, Washington has accused Beijing and Moscow of militarising space.
