China space tourism prospects boosted by cooperation agreement

A file pic showing people watching a Long March-8 rocket lifting off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China's Hainan province. CAS Space signed a strategic cooperation agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-based travel industry giant China Tourism Group, pledging to "jointly promote the application of commercial space technology and create a new space economy such as space tourism". - AFP

BEIJING (Reuters): A Chinese space tech company said on Wednesday it had signed a cooperation agreement with the country's largest state-owned travel corporation, the latest sign that the arrival of a domestic "space tourism" industry is near.

CAS Space signed a strategic cooperation agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-based travel industry giant China Tourism Group, pledging to "jointly promote the application of commercial space technology and create a new space economy such as space tourism," according to a statement published on CAS Space's official WeChat account.