Indian youth attend Tiangong Dialogue with Chinese taikonauts

Over 50 Indian youth on Thursday attended a dialogue with Chinese taikonauts on board the orbiting Chinese Tiangong space station.

The event "Tiangong Dialogue-SCO students talk with taikonauts of Shenzhou-15 (spaceship)" was organized by China's Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Committee on Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation, China Manned Space Agency and the SCO Secretariat.

Teachers and students from SCO member countries were invited to attend the interaction through virtual mode.

During the dialogue, Chinese taikonauts at the Tiangong space station answered questions of the participants, including those raised by the representative of Indian youth.

The Indian young people were welcomed into the dialogue by Ma Jia, charge d'affaires ad interim of the Chinese Embassy in India. She introduced accomplishments of China's space industry while noting that India has made great progress in the field of space.

"India is the sixth country in the world to launch a satellite in geosynchronous orbit on its own, the first in Asia and the fourth in the world to successfully explore Mars. It shocked the world with its record-breaking launch of 104 satellites on one rocket," she said.

She added that both China and India are committed to national development and rejuvenation.

She said that as members of the SCO, BRICS and other multilateral mechanisms, the two countries have great potential for exchange and cooperation in various fields including space science, and that the youth from the two neighbouring countries can promote the exchange among civilizations for a bright future for all.

The day of holding the dialogue coincided with the United Nations' Chinese Language Day, and the Indian youth displayed Chinese calligraphy and sang songs in Chinese and Hindi to mark the day.

Ma noted that the theme of this year's Chinese Language Day -- facilitating dialogues across civilizations -- was in line with the Tiangong Dialogue.