Chair,

I would like to congratulate you on your election as the Chair of this session, and I am confident that under your leadership, this session will be a great success. The Chinese Delegation would also like to thank Ms. Aarti Holla-Maini, Director of UNOOSA, for leading the Secretariat for the preparation of the session. China looks forward to participating in the in-depth discussions at this session and stands ready to work with all parties to better fulfill the functions of COPUOS and its Legal Subcommittee. On the basis of the statement made by the distinguished representative of Colombia on behalf of the G-77 and China, the Chinese delegation would like to make the following statement.

Chair,

Throughout history, outer space is linked to human dreams. At a time of rapid scientific and technological development, outer space is of common interest to all mankind, and space exploration is a common endeavor of humankind. The rapid development of space science and technology, the emergence of new types of space activities, the increasing diversity of space activities and the flourishing of commercial spaceflight have brought new challenges to the global governance of outer space, while improving the lives of human beings. Under these circumstances, it is all the more important for all countries to uphold the philosophy of a community of shared future for mankind, adhere to genuine multilateralism, defend the international order in outer space, underpinned by the Outer Space Treaty, and continue to carry out in-depth international cooperation, so as to promote space science and technology and space activities for the betterment of all countries.

First, we must give full play to the role of COPUOS. As the most extensive multilateral intergovernmental platform for the peaceful uses of outer space, COPUOS should play a leading and irreplaceable role in promoting the peaceful uses of outer space, implementing the five treaties on outer space and deepening international cooperation in outer space. In order to avoid the "fragmentation" of space governance and space rules, the role of COPUOS should continue to be fully utilized and continuously strengthened. Without changing the established decision-making mechanism of COPUOS, the non-governmental process can complement the work of COPUOS to a certain extent. Coordination between COPUOS and other UN bodies, mechanisms and processes should be carried out in accordance with their respective functions in order to avoid overlapping or mutual interference.

Second, it is necessary to firmly maintain the international order in outer space based on the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. The Outer Space Treaty has laid down the legal basis for outer space activities and also constitutes the framework for the further development of outer space law. Regardless of how innovative the outer space activities are, and whether the subject of such activities is a governmental or non-governmental entity, the law on outer space, underpinned by the Outer Space Treaty, should be uniformly and universally applied. In response to new space issues, such as space resource activities, we need to do good faith interpretation and application to enhance effective implementation of existing outer space laws. If new rules need to be formulated, the Outer Space Treaty should be strictly followed. China will continue to support the work of the Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities and looks forward to engaging in extensive and in-depth exchanges with all parties on relevant issues.

Third, international cooperation in outer space should be actively pursued. China maintains that international cooperation in the field of outer space should be more inclusive, reflecting more common interests, and should, in particular, ensure the right of the vast majority of developing countries to the peaceful use of space science and technology, as well as the opportunity to participate in international exchanges and cooperation. China has actively engaged in international cooperation through relevant space engineering projects, providing countries with opportunities for international cooperation in terms of payloads, scientific experiments. The China Space Station has been fully completed, and the inaugural experimental projects selected by the China Manned Space Agency in cooperation with UNOOSA are being implemented on the China Space Station successively. China has released the master plan, cooperation initiatives and cooperation documents for the International Lunar Research Station project and welcomes interested countries, international organizations and partners to join the project.

Capacity-building in space law is also an important part of international cooperation, and full consideration should be given to the special needs of emerging spacefaring countries and developing countries in terms of capacity-building. China appreciates the UN Conference on Space Law and Policy and Space Resources Conference organized by UNOOSA and welcomes the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Lunar Activities, to be held in June this year, as the relevant conferences will help to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the legal aspects of outer space among all parties. The China Institute of Space Law co-organizes an annual international seminar with the International Institute of Space Law during the China Space Conference. This year it will be held in Wuhan, China, in the second half of April, in which all countries and international organizations are welcome to participate.

China would like to continue to be guided by the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping. We are firmly committed to being a defender of world peace and a promoter of global development, to promote the realization of a universal, inclusive and win-win pattern of international cooperation in outer space, to actively put into practice the philosophy of a community of shared future for mankind in the field of outer space, and to join hands with all parties to enable human civilization to move into a broader cosmic space and ensure that space activities will better benefit people all over the world. 

Thank you, Chair.