However, since 1991, and following the collapse of the Soviet Union, China has been co-operating with the Russians. Two Chinese astronauts have undergone basic cosmonaut training in Russia and have returned to China reportedly to pass on their knowledge to other candidates. In 1996, the head of the Russian Space Agency, Yuri Koptev, visited China and a secret agreement was drawn up between the two nations. It is suspected by some analysts that China has purchased the docking system used by Russian spacecraft and that it could be used to link two manned Chinese spacecraft sometime in the future. It has even been suggested that China may have been the mystery backer that the Russian government hoped would pay for Mir to stay in orbit.
China certainly has the basic technology required for manned spaceflight.
It has launched rats and mice into space and returned them to Earth. China is reported to be developing an improved version of its Long March 2E booster that could carry men into space. Hypersonic craft Spy satellite images suggest that much work is being carried out on a new launchpad at the Jiuquan launch site. Possibly to build a launch pad capable of supporting manned launches. A recent Pentagon report said that China was also researching hypersonic craft, the type of research required to build a space shuttle.