Participation welcomed

Speaking of the station's future, Hao said his agency will strive to make sure that it makes the best use of the asset to advance space science, technology and application.

He said scientists will be able to take advantage of the facility's unique environment to perform mutation breeding experiments, produce special medicines and create new materials, thus generating scientific, technological and economic benefits.

In addition, the agency has signed agreements with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs on space station cooperation. The two organizations have jointly issued a statement inviting scientists from around the world to submit their research proposals for an opportunity to conduct their own experiments aboard the Chinese station.

"As of now, 17 nations have confirmed their participation in nine scientific tasks on our station, with related work proceeding well," Hao said. "We will continue working with the UN's outer space office to solicit proposals for future scientific collaborations."

The official said there will be more than 20 cabinets aboard the station reserved for scientific instruments that were designed in accordance with international standards, adding that they will be available for collaborators.

Moreover, Hao said there definitely will be foreign astronauts on the Chinese station.

In April 1971, the former Soviet Union became the first in the world to operate a space station with the deployment of its Salyut 1 station in a low-Earth orbit. Since then, 10 space stations have been launched and most of them were built by the Soviet Union.

Currently, the only operational station is the International Space Station, a joint effort by several national space agencies including the United States' NASA and Russia's Roscosmos. However, China has been excluded from the project since its very beginning mainly because of US objections.