America Should Remove Obstacles to US-China Space Collaboration

China’s Chang’e 6 spacecraft has recently succeeded in its lunar mission to collect soil samples from the far side of the moon for the first time in history. NASA is bitterly complaining that China partnered with France, Italy, Pakistan and the European Space Agency but did not seek NASA’s participation, suggesting that China deliberately excluded the United States. However, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning’s response prompted NASA to instantly contradict itself. China welcomes the participation of all countries in researching its lunar samples, but America seems to have overlooked the Wolf Amendment and other U.S. laws, as well as whether the U.S. government even permits American scientists and scientific institutions to collaborate with China.

The U.S. passed the Wolf Amendment in 2011 in the interest of national security. The law bans NASA and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from engaging in technological exchange or jointly developing any scientific program with the Chinese government without special approval to ensure that potential competitors do not gain access to America’s aerospace technology and sensitive information. The amendment is precisely what has kept the two nations’ space institutions from conducting a normal dialogue.

Since enacting the Wolf Amendment, the United States has constantly set up obstacles to U.S.-Chinese space collaboration. In 2013, NASA invoked the Wolf Amendment to ban Chinese scientists from attending the second Kepler Science Conference, which drew the protest of many prominent American and British scientists. In October 2019, America refused to issue visas to Chinese scientists when it hosted the opening of the 70th International Astronautical Congress, during which the question of where China’s space agency was led the audience discussion. During testimony before the House of Representatives in 2021, NASA Director Bill Nelson even called China the “strongest opponent in the universe,” one that challenges America’s leading position in outer space, and that the U.S. must always keep a close eye on China and support the Wolf Amendment.* America places barriers to Chinese-U.S. aerospace collaboration on the one hand, then requires China to actively share its lunar samples on the other. The U.S. has locked the door on China, yet it has the nerve to make demands of us! Do some Americans really have the gall to ask, or does their government suffer from amnesia?

Blowing out the lamps of others does not make one’s own light shine brighter, nor will blocking the path of others further your own journey. The facts prove that not only have these suppressive measures by the United States failed to stop the progress of China’s aerospace industry, they have in fact stimulated China’s self-sufficiency and steadfast determination to innovate on its own. Generation after generation of Chinese scientists have helped China’s space industry make continued progress and breakthroughs. From China’s first atomic and hydrogen bombs and satellites to manned space flight, from the BeiDou navigation system to the Tiangong space station, from lunar exploration to landing on Mars, a series of brilliant achievements have captivated the world’s attention. From following others to running alongside to leading, China’s space industry has joined the accelerated pace of a new era.

The world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century at a growing pace, and a new round of scientific revolution and industrial transformation has brought forth new opportunities. To overcome our common challenges here and create a better future, the world needs transparency, sharing and collaboration. Hopefully, the United States will abandon its zero-sum mentality and forgo its pride and prejudice by taking steps to clear the obstacles. Cooperating with China in a more open and inclusive manner for joint space resource development and utilization would bring prosperity to both nations and the world at large.

*Editor’s note: Although accurately translated, the quoted remarks could not be independently verified.