BEIJING, July 23. /TASS/. China welcomes India’s successful launch of its second lunar exploration mission, Chandrayaan-2, and is ready to jointly explore the Moon with India, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Tuesday.

"We positively view India’s launch of the Chandrayaan-2 mission with a lunar rover," she said at a regular briefing. "The exploration and exploitation of space, including the Moon and other planets, is a common task of the humanity, which needs to be addressed by joint effort. <…> We are willing to join forces with India and other countries to advance the lunar exploration."

According to the diplomat, this is how Beijing hopes to contribute to the development of the whole humanity. Hua Chunying added that China is cooperating with other countries for the sake of peaceful exploration of space.

On Monday, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched the Chandrayaan-2 mission with a lunar rover onboard, which is expected to reach the Moon by September 6. This launch comes to continue the program started by the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, which was sent to the Moon in 2008. However, this time around the project is much more complicated. India hopes that this mission will make it the fourth country in the world, joining Russia, China and the US, to carry out a soft landing on the lunar surface.