JIUQUAN (China), October 16. /TASS/. China hopes to expand cooperation with Russia in the program of constructing its own orbital station, Wu Ping, representative of China's Manned Space Agency, said on Sunday in response to a TASS question.

"When implementing a program of constructing a space station, we hope to engage in expanded cooperation and exchanges with Russia in choosing and training cosmonauts, carrying out scientific experiments, in technological spheres and other spheres," she said. Since the launch of the Chinese program of manned flights, over 20 Russian-Chinese cooperation projects were started, and fruitful results have already been attained, she noted.

Lei Fanpei from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) said on October 7 that China plans to launch an experimental module to its space station in 2018, while the station will be completely assembled on the orbit by 2022.