China is not interested in a space race and urges the US to stop baseless speculation around this topic, the Chinese Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Friday.
"China is not interested in participating in a space race with any country, and strongly opposes the weaponization of space and turning it into a battlefield, as well as an arms race in space," the ministry said, adding that "China urges the US to stop baseless speculation and irresponsible behavior."
The ministry added that the US says that it seeks to protect interests of the whole world, but, in fact, Washington seizes space resources for its personal gain.
On Friday, Russia started its first lunar mission of the 21st century, by launching Luna-25 spacecraft, carried by a Soyuz 2.1b rocket. The country plans to launch three more lunar missions within the next seven years.