For a very long time in the future China and the US are unlikely to make any breakthroughs in space cooperation, and the space race will accelerate, said Zhang Ming, an associate researcher with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, writing for news site
The Paper.
The militarization of space is expected to intensify in the future, according to Zhang. She said the US sticks to the belief that China is aiming to develop technologies that can potentially destroy US space facilities. Worries over China’s growing capacities in anti-satellite weapons is a major reason why the US air force increased the space budget by 20 percent in 2017, Zhang said.
The two countries are also expected to compete more intensely over potential space partners, as China steps up its efforts in lunar exploration and space station construction, Zhang said.
China is currently discussing with Russia and the European Space Agency about possible cooperation in lunar projects, and the China National Space Administration also signed a memo of understanding with the German Aerospace Center about cooperation on the Chang’e-4 satellite missions, according to Zhang. This progress has led the US to worry that China might undermine the US leading role in global space technologies, Zhang said.
The claim that the US has already lost its status as a space leader is completely untrue, Zhang noted. It’s undeniably becoming more difficult for space to be owned by just a couple of super powers, she said, as developing countries and the private sector have seen their technologies advancing quickly.
But the US in general is still a space leader, she said. Not only does it have the strongest official and commercial space programs, according to Zhang, it’s also the most credible leader and trendsetter in deep space exploration, cutting-edge rocket technologies and the commercialization of space.
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