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China Vigorously Develops European and Asia-Pacific Launching Market
Hu Hongfu, deputy executive general manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Group Company, told the correspondents that China's providing external launching services is a beneficial and necessary supplement to the international commercial satellite market. China's sending the American satellite into outer space is a normal international commercial launch. For the future, in addition to the launch of domestic satellites, China will vigorously develop new markets including those in European and Asia-Pacific regions.
Hu said that China's Great Wall Company signed a launching service agreement with Italy last year. Other contracts on such services are under negotiation. This marks an initial result achieved in China's exploring external launching service markets.
Hu pointed out that for a period of time, some people in the United States censured China for no reason, claiming that China obtained their so-called "sensitive technology" in the process of external launching services, which is utterly groundless. China's launch of the American satellite was placed under the supervision and control by American staff in the whole process. It is absolutely impossible to blow the gaff. The "Cox Report" dished out by US Congress in May last year has yielded negative effect on China's external launching services. Up to now, the United States has not as yet issued the license to he launch the Zhongxing No.8, which has affected both the American firm and the Chinese company undertaking the launching service. China believes that our launching American satellite belongs to normal international trade which is beneficial to both sides. We hope the United States would settle this issue as soon as possible.
Sources say that since 1985 when the Chinese government declared that its "Long March " rockets would enter the international market to launch commercial satellites, it has successfully conducted 27 launches of various international commercial satellites and experimental devices. The input-output ratio of China's "Long March" serial rockets ranks first and the rocket's performance reliability is in the front ranks of the world and it has strong competitiveness in the international commercial satellite launching market.
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