China recently announced its first international cooperative project of a joint Chinese-Russian exploration of Mars that has received attention from the governments of both countries. On March 26, 2007, with the Chinese and Russian heads of state as witnesses, the director of the China National Space Administration, Sun Laiyan, and the head of the Russian Space Agency, Anatoly Perminov, both signed the "Cooperative Agreement between the China National Space Administration and the Russian Space Agency on joint Chinese-Russian exploration of Mars."

Relevant agencies recently held a seminar in Beijing to decide the general proposal of the Chinese-Russian joint exploration of Mars, the agenda for major sectors, and all relevant documents. In the seminar, the two countries announced the establishment of a joint group of experts on the Mars exploration program, led by Xu Boming, researcher with the Number Eight Institute of Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Sun Jiadong, one of China's "founding fathers of two bombs and one satellite," and an expert from the Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, was assigned to be the consultant for the program. Members of this group are experts from the Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and other groups. This is an important historic milestone for Chinese-Russian space relations that will play an active role in promoting a strategic, Chinese-Russian collaborative partnership.

Wu Ji, a leading scientist with the CAS Center for Space Environmental Research and Forecast, said that so far there has not been any specific space exploration program on Mars. Therefore, the Chinese-Russian joint exploration of Mars receives wide support from the international community. In 2003 and 2005, China successfully launched manned spacecraft. Its lunar probe program is also under way. Russia has far more experience in deep space exploration than China. There is no doubt that the two countries will join forces to help China participate in deep space exploration. Moreover, US experts believe that the bilateral cooperation will achieve a win-win result. Russia has obtained a superior status in its national space exploration technology. China has maintained a strong momentum in its economic development. China can help Russia economically; at the same time taking advantage of Russia's cutting-edge technology for deep space exploration, so as to make many leaps in the scientific research of space.