Make China a global space giant: Xi Jinping

President Xi Jinping on Sunday asked scientists to help realise China’s dream of becoming a global space giant as the Communist nation marked its first Space Day.

“In establishing Space Day, we are commemorating history, passing on the spirit, and galvanising popular enthusiasm for science, exploration of the unknown and innovation, particularly among young people,” Xi said.

He asked space scientists and engineers to make China a space power. “Becoming an aerospace power has always been a dream we’ve been striving for,” The President added.

Xi asked space scientists and engineers to “seize the strategic opportunity and keep innovating to make a greater contribution to the country’s overall growth and the welfare of mankind.

He also saluted all those who have contributed to China’s aerospace development during the past six decades. “It’s our next goal to reuse manned spacecraft. We want to make our space exploration cost-effective,” Zhou Jianping chief engineer of China’s manned space program said.

Zhou did not provide details on the project, but said his team’s focus is on saving costs, giving an example from the Tiangong space lab series, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. China is building its space lab which is expected to be ready by 2022 and is currently under construction.

Two days ago China unveiled plans to land a rover in its mission to Mars around 2020.