The Shenzhou-17 astronauts handed over control of the Tiangong space station to the newly arrived Shenzhou-18 crew on Sunday and are ready to return to Earth, said the China Manned Space Agency.
The three Shenzhou-17 astronauts have completed all set tasks for their six-month stay in space.
At around 15:00 (Beijing Time), the two crews held a handover ceremony, with Shenzhou-17 astronauts Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin, and Shenzhou-18 astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu signing their names on handover confirmation documents.
"I hereby pass the hatch key symbolizing the baton to you. Starting from now, you officially take over the operation and management of the space station," said Tang, mission commander of the Shenzhou-17 crew.
"Alright. We, the crew of Shenzhou 18, will surely do our utmost to run our leg of this space relay of the Shenzhou family," said Ye, mission commander of the Shenzhou-18 crew.
The Shenzhou-17 crew are due to return to Earth on Tuesday aboard the Shenzhou-17 spaceship.
The Dongfeng Landing Site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is now preparing for the return of Shenzhou-17 from space.
The Shenzhou-18 crew entered the space station in the early hours of Friday (Beijing Time).
Shenzhou-17 astronauts ready to return to Earth
Shenzhou-17 astronauts ready to return to Earth
Shenzhou-17 astronauts ready to return to Earth
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Cho Tae-yul, foreign minister of the Republic of Korea (ROK), in Beijing on Monday.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that China and the ROK are close neighbors and should maintain regular exchanges.
Recently, China-ROK relations have been facing difficulties and challenges, which is not in the common interests of both sides, nor is it what China wants to see, Wang said, adding that it is hoped that the ROK side will work with China to stick to the original intention of establishing diplomatic ties, adhere to the direction of good neighborliness and friendship, stick to the goal of mutually beneficial cooperation, remove disturbances, and make joint efforts to push for the sound and steady development of China-ROK relations. He pointed out that China and the ROK should understand and respect each other, strengthen communication and exchanges, eliminate misunderstandings and enhance mutual trust.
Wang added that China hopes the ROK side abides by the one-China principle, properly and prudently handles Taiwan-related issues, and consolidates the political foundation of bilateral relations. The two sides should send more objective and positive messages, increase positive guidance, and strengthen people-to-people exchanges to consolidate public support for bilateral relations.
China is speeding up the development of new quality productive forces, promoting high-quality development and expanding high-level opening up, which will bring important opportunities to the ROK, Wang said, adding that the two sides should deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, be reliable and long-term partners in each other's development process, jointly oppose trade protectionism, safeguard the international free trade system, and ensure stable and unimpeded production and supply chains.
Cho said that it is hoped that this visit will become an important step forward in ROK-China relations. The ROK government attaches great importance to its relations with China, and looks forward to working closely with China to develop a healthier and more mature strategic cooperative partnership on the basis of mutual respect, reciprocity and common interests.
He added that it is in the common interests of the two countries and peoples and the expectation of the international community to promote the development of ROK-China relations and jointly meet common challenges. The ROK is willing to enhance mutual trust, expand consensus and focus on cooperation with China, thus avoiding geopolitical constraints as much as possible and jointly opening up a new situation of bilateral cooperation.
The two sides also exchanged views on China-Japan-ROK cooperation, the situation on the Korean Peninsula and other issues of common concern.
At the invitation of Wang, Cho is visiting China from May 13 to 14.
Chinese foreign minister holds talks with ROK counterpart
