The Shenzhou-19 crew members, who are currently on board China's space station, will conduct their first extravehicular activities (EVAs) within the next few days, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Monday.
Over the past 48 days, the astronauts have accomplished a rotation with the Shenzhou-18 crew, attended to the maintenance and upkeep of the space station platform, ensured the upkeep of the life and health support system, conducted inspections and tests on EVA suits, and prepared for the spacewalk.
The CMSA noted that the crew has participated in system-wide pressure emergency drills, medical rescue exercises and other in-orbit training programs, while also carrying out an array of space science experiments.
The agency confirmed that the Shenzhou-19 crew is in good health and the space station is operating smoothly, providing optimal conditions for conducting EVAs.
Shenzhou-19 crew set for maiden extravehicular activities
Shenzhou-19 crew set for maiden extravehicular activities
China and other member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), pledged to enhance sustainable development cooperation at a Thursday conference in Tianjin, ahead of this year's SCO summit.
As the rotating chair for this year, China is to host the SCO summit in Tianjin this autumn. The China-SCO Conference on Industrial Cooperation for Sustainable Development is one of the activities organized during a promotion event from Wednesday to Friday. It aims to promote cooperation in fields like infrastructure, energy, mining and petrifaction.
Nearly 400 guests, including government officials and enterprises from SCO member states attended the opening session.
"In 2024, China's trade volume with SCO member states, observer states and dialogue partners reached a record high of 890 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for about 14.4 percent of China's total foreign trade volume, fully demonstrating the tremendous vitality and broad prospects of trade development within the region," said Ling Ji, vice minister of commerce and deputy China international trade representative, at the conference.
As China has extensive experience in promoting sustainable development, attendees from SCO member states expressed hope to strengthen cooperation with China across various sectors, said SCO Deputy Secretary General Sohail Khan.
"China plays a very, very important, significant role in sustainable development, as I said, so we are expecting that in the sustainable development context, all member states have lot to gain and learn from China on its achievements in various areas, like agricultural industries, energy, high tech, information technology, and robot AI," he said.
By the end of 2024, China's investment stocks in SCO member states, observer states and dialogue partners have exceeded 140 billion U.S. dollars, with the total value of contracts signed by Chinese enterprises in these countries exceeding one trillion U.S. dollars and the completed turnover surpassing 680 billion U.S. dollars.
In 2024, about 19,000 China-Europe freight train ran through the SCO region, marking a year-on-year increase of 10.7 percent and significantly promoting regional connectivity and economic development.
China, SCO member states pledge deeper sustainable development cooperation
