China announces successful launch of Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft

China on Friday announced the successful launch of its Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft which is delivering supplies for its orbiting Tiangong space station.

The Long March-7 Y9 rocket carrying the spacecraft blasted off at 23:13 Beijing Time (1513 GMT) on Friday from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

After about 10 minutes, the Tianzhou-8 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. Its solar panels then unfolded.

"According to the flight data of the Long March-7 carrier rocket and the monitoring and calculations of the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft has accurately entered the preset orbit, the solar panels have unfolded, and the spacecraft is operating as normal. Now, I declare the launch a complete success!" announced Guo Zhonglai, commander of the launch ground.

The cargo craft will later conduct the rendezvous and docking with the space station combination.

Afterwards, the Shenzhou-19 crew, which was sent into the space station on October 30, will enter the cargo craft and transfer the items as scheduled.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet with Chilean President Gabriel Boric in Lima on Friday.

Xi arrived in Peru's capital Lima on Thursday for the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and a state visit to the Latin American country at the invitation of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.

Scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Lima under the theme "Empower, Include, Grow," the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will gather leaders from 21 member economies across the Asia-Pacific, including the United States and China, as well as other major economies in Southeast Asia.