South Africa Joins China’s Space Alliance in Race Against US
- Agreements cover human spaceflight, lunar research station
- China seeks partners to bolster plans for moon’s south pole
The Long March 5B rocket, carrying China's Mengtian module, lifts off.
Source: AFP/Getty Images
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South Africa will partner with China on space exploration as Beijing seeks to bolster its influence in the competition for lunar dominance against the US and its allies.
Two agreements on official cooperation were signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to South Africa on Tuesday, the first tie-up of its kind between the nations, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. One covers human spaceflight and the other involves the International Lunar Research Station, a plan to build a base on the moon that’s backed by China and Russia.