Space

In this pool photo distributed by Sputnik agency, Russia's President Vladimir Putin (left) shakes hands with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia on 13 September 2023. (Vladimir Smirnov/Pool/AFP)

Why Kim Jong-un’s first trip after the pandemic was not to China, but Russia

The solidarity between North Korea and Russia based on an “anti-imperialist” or anti-American mindset can be said to be a strategic and simple construct: “An enemy’s friend is an enemy.” 
The "Blue Supermoon", the second full moon of a calendar month, rises above the Apollo Temple in ancient Corinth, on 30 August 2023. (Valerie Gache/AFP)

The great powers’ revived interest in the moon

For mineral resources as well as various military and strategic reasons, the great powers of the world are reviving their interest in the moon. While US-China competition is strong, one should not forget that the US is actually the only country capable of establishing bases on the moon and putting its flag on large swathes of the moon in the next decade.
The quantum race is not like the space race, or most other tech races; it is more science than technology. (iStock)

Quantum tech isn’t a typical tech race

With heightened tensions between the US and China, it’s easy to reach for Cold War analogies, says science journalist Dan Garisto. But the quantum race is not like the space race, or most other tech races. That’s because quantum tech — despite the name — is more science than technology. If quantum tech is in its infancy, it should not be viewed in the same light as semiconductors and other currently critical technology. In fact, seen as science and not a deployable technology, quantum tech leaves much scope for cooperation.
In this file photo taken on 2 May 2022, Elon Musk attends the 2022 Met Gala Celebrating "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, US. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images North America/AFP)

Elon Musk offended both sides of the Taiwan Strait

Tesla CEO Elon Musk drew widespread criticism for his comment on establishing Taiwan as a special administrative zone. While Musk raised his suggestions based on his own commercial interests, the controversial statement shows the impact of the Taiwan Strait issue for the business world. Is there a time and place for businessmen to tread on geopolitical issues?
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee (second from right) with three former participants of the Hong Kong Space Museum's Young Astronaut Training Camp. (Weibo/李家超)

Hong Kong has a place in China's aerospace future

China recently announced that its space exploration programme will recruit payload specialists from Hong Kong and Macau, sparking excitement for the people of Hong Kong. While the announcement is a recognition of the special administrative region’s R&D capabilities, some believe that it is an effort to win over the people of Hong Kong and boost their sense of belonging and patriotism. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk takes a look at what this opportunity means for Hong Kong.
This handout image taken on 9 August 2022 and released by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on 10 August 2022 shows a PLA fighter jet taking part in a military drill in an undisclosed location. (Handout/Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army/AFP)

Prominent PLA elites in 'the cosmos club': Countdown to the 20th Party Congress

Li Cheng, director of the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, notes that well-educated and professionally capable military technocrats are prominently represented in the PLA leadership, and this trend is set to continue after the 20th Party Congress. What contributions will this new corps of military technocrats make as Xi Jinping heads into a likely third term?
Onlookers watch the launch of a rocket transporting China’s second module for its Tiangong space station from the Wenchang spaceport in southern China on 24 July 2022. (CNS/AFP)

Rocket scientists in China's party leadership: Countdown to the 20th Party Congress

The rapid rise of “the cosmos club” has paralleled China's rising aspiration to take on a prominent role in the international “space club”. Li Cheng, director of the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, takes a closer look at the career paths and institutional associations of emerging rocket scientists in China’s national and provincial leadership.
A model of China's Tiangong space station is seen at the Apsara Conference, a cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) conference, in Hangzhou, in China's eastern Zhejiang province on 19 October 2021. (STR/AFP)

The rapid rise of 'the cosmos club' in the Xi Jinping era: Countdown to the 20th Party Congress

The presence of leaders in the CCP Central Committee with aerospace backgrounds is not new, but this group has never penetrated the national and provincial levels of leadership at the rate and scale that it has during the Xi Jinping era. Two and perhaps even three of them will be strong contenders for the Politburo at the 20th Party Congress, and most of them will play an important role in Xi Jinping’s third term and beyond, says Li Cheng, director of the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution.
A Long March 7Y4 rocket carrying the Tianzhou 3 cargo ship launches from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in China's southern Hainan province, on a mission to deliver supplies to China's Tiangong space station on 20 September 2021. (STR/AFP)

The complex impact of China’s military-civil fusion in space

With China's accelerated efforts to become a great space power, including opening up its space sector to private firms, Western developed countries worry that China's military-civil fusion (MCF) strategy may see technology developed in the commercial sector being used to boost China's military space power in the future. Are these fears justified? Japanese academic Masaaki Yatsuzuka looks into the issue.