China's most renowned taikonaut said in Beijing Friday his country and the United States should make good on their presidents' promises to cooperate in space, reports Reuters."I think the two countries should proactively implement the intent expressed in the joint communique to eliminate obstacles and promote exchange and cooperation in our space programs," Yang Liwei [vid], now the vice director of the country's Manned Space Engineering Office, said.
Efforts at U.S.-China cooperation in space have failed in the past decade, stymied by economic, diplomatic and security tensions, despite a 2009 attempt by President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, to launch collaboration.
Obama and Hu, in a statement in November 2009, called for "the initiation of a joint dialogue on human spaceflight and space exploration, based on the principles of transparency, reciprocity and mutual benefit."
Yang Liwei noted that female taikonauts will likely launch to space from China in 2012, with speculation that it may occur on the Shenzhou 10 mission.
Dramatization of first Chinese female taikonaut below.
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