Project's success gives shot in arm to aerospace shares

Chinese aerospace shares gained considerable ground on Friday as the nation's Shenzhou IX manned spacecraft completed docking and returned to Earth as planned.

The ambitious space mission has been seen as presenting potentially golden buying opportunities for investors, in view of the strategic priority now being placed by the government on the aerospace sector, according to experts.

Shanghai-listed Xi'an Aero-engine Corp, the country's manufacturing and distribution base for aero engine production, gained 1.96 percent to close at 13.02 yuan ($2.04), marking the latest surge in a week that saw an overall combined market loss of 5.68 percent.