China will play a major role in international space research and exploration, Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said here on Monday.

Addressing the opening session of the 36th Scientific Assembly of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), Zeng said China will continue to support various activities concerning outer space exploration, and push forward bilateral and multilateral collaboration in space exploration.

China advocates equality, mutual benefit, peaceful utilization and common prosperity in space exploration, and hopes technical barriers can be overcome, Zeng said.

The Chinese government will continue to conduct manned space missions, speed up the moon-orbiting project and launch the astronomical satellite constellation project, he said.

Further development of telecommunication satellites, space monitoring technologies and experiments to determine if there is life in outer space would significantly upgrade the research capability of Chinese space scientists.

Although economic development is now the priority of the Chinese people, Zeng said, China views space science and technology as a barometer for the country's innovation capability.

Since the 1960s, Chinese scientists have achieved a lot in space material science, space physics, space astronomy and space environmental monitoring, Zeng said.

"China has already been a key force in international space exploration," Zeng said.

Nearly 2,000 scientists and officials from more than 50 countries and regions are attending the COSPAR scientific assembly.