Chinaon Monday rejected as an irresponsible smear a warning from the chief ofNASAthat Beijing might "take over" the moon as part of a military programme, saying it has always called for the building of a community of nations in outer space.
Chinahas stepped up the pace of its space programme in the past decade, with exploration of the moon a focus.
The communist state made its first lunar uncrewed landing in 2013 and expects to launch rockets powerful enough to send astronauts to the moon towards the end of this decade.
"We must be very concerned thatChinais landing on the moon and saying: "It's ours now and you stay out',"NASAAdministrator Bill Nelson told German newspaper Bild in an interview published on Saturday.
China has stepped up its space operations in recent years.
Victoria Jones
The US space agency chief saidChina's space programme was a military one and thatBeijinghad stolen ideas and technology from others.
"This is not the first time that the head of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration has ignored the facts and spoken irresponsibly aboutChina," said Zhao Lijian, a spokesman at the Chinese foreign ministry.
"The US side has constantly constructed a smear campaign againstChina's normal and reasonable outer space endeavours, andChinafirmly opposes such irresponsible remarks."
Chinahas always promoted the building of a shared future for humanity in outer space and opposed its weaponisation and any arms race in space, he said.
NASA, under its Artemis programme, plans to send a crewed mission to orbit the moon in 2024 and make a crewed landing near the lunar south pole by 2025.
Beijingis planning uncrewed missions to the moon's south pole some time this decade.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has urged caution over China's space programme.
JOE SKIPPER