China has developed high-energy cryogenic fuel technology, strap-on technology and multi-satellite on one rocket launching technology for the launch vehicle. The Long March series launch vehicles have made 39 successful flights and won customers' praises for its reliability.
The development and application of China's space technology have played a special and irreplaceable role in China's modernization construction. The successful launch of communications and broadcasting satellites enabled China's communications industry to have developed greatly. Satellite TV population coverage in China has reached 80% and the satellite TV education system established includes over 1200 education, receiving and rebroadcasting stations, and 7600 satellite TV ground stations, which are playing a very great role in improving culture level and quality of the whole nation.
Through large international communications satellite ground stations, China has established international communications business relations with 150 countries and regions and set up a trunk public satellite communications network covering all provinces, municipalities, cities and coastal economic developed regions of the whole country. Some specific satellite networks are also developing rapidly and have already become effective supplement to the public network.
China has already put the meteorological satellite into use for the forecast of the disastrous weather like typhoon and storm. It has used the satellite remote sensing data to fulfil the survey of the vast areas, including Huangtu Plateau and Sanbei(Three-Norths) Shelter Forest Belt and the soil erosion of the whole country, and the land survey of Tibet Autonomous Region-the World Roof. China is building the remote sensing, geographical information and other systems for the survey and analysis of the land use, vegetation coverage, water area, desert area and urbanization. Scientists both at home and abroad have jointly made more than 200 microgravity experiments related to material science, fluid mechanics and life science, and space environment observation.
With the deepening of China's reform and opening to the outside world, for the recent years the exchange of the leaders, scientists and technicians from aerospace circles in the two countries has kept increasing. Thanks to the direct concern of the governmental senior officials of the two countries, the cooperation in space technology between the two governments and industries of China and Germany has been further strengthened. On November 16, 1993, Mr. Juergen E. Schrempp, the president of the former DASA and I signed in Beijing the Memorandum of Understanding between China Aerospace Corporation and Deutsche Aerospace AG on Establishment of a Cooperation for Peaceful Space Projects, and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Chinese Primer Li Peng also attended the signing ceremony. According to the memorandum, and with approval by the two governments, a joint venture EurasSpace was registered and established in Munich, Germany on July 8, 1994. Premier Li Peng attended the unveiling ceremony of the joint venture in Munich. Now EurasSpace has undertaken China Sinosat Space Communications Satellite Project. On May 5, 1995, China Great Wall Industry Corporation affiliated to China Aerospace Corporation and German Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG signed in Beijing the launch service contract for Nahuel, which will be launched on China's LM-3C launch vehicle in the first quarter of 1997. In June, 1995, China National Space Administration and German DASA signed in Bonn the agreement on cooperation in the peaceful use and research of space.
The general designer of China's reform and opening to the outside world, Mr. Deng Xiaoping has pointed out: hi-tech should be industrialized. In my opinion, space technology must be industrialized by using market as its leading and making international cooperation, which is also the effective way for all countries to develop space industry in the future. For this reason, while making Sino-Germany cooperation, we also conduct cooperations in various degrees with advanced countries in space technology such as the US, Russia, France, Canada and Brazil and have achieved good results. Moreover, in recent two years our cooperations with Asia-Pacific countries like India, Pakistan and Thailand have made a new advance. China and Germany have made rather fruitful cooperation in space technology. Looking forward to the 21st century, Sino-Germany cooperation in space will develop more widely and more deeply.