spacetoday.net: NASA, CNSA leaders meet

Posted: Sun, Dec 5, 2004, 1:28 PM ET (1828 GMT)
The administrator of NASA and his Chinese counterpart met formally for the first time last week in talks that could be the prelude for closer cooperation between the two nations in space endeavors. NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and Sun Laiyan, administrator of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), met in Washington Thursday for the first talks between the two space agencies. The meeting was described by a NASA spokesperson as a "courtesy meeting", and that closer, more formal cooperation between NASA and CNSA would be limited by US concerns of Chinese weapons proliferation, as well as human rights issues. The two did agree to establish a "regular exchange mechanism", according to the state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua. In addition to last week's meeting, CNSA representatives also attended a NASA workshop last month on international cooperation in the Vision for Space Exploration.