Nations ask to play part in space lab

Many countries reach out as China prepares to put permanent station in service in 2022

Many nations have reached out to China, seeking to play a part in the country's future manned space station, a senior space industry official said Wednesday.

"We believe there is a wide range of fields suitable for such international collaboration and these prospective cooperation projects will have huge potential," said Fu Zhiheng, vice-president of China Great Wall Industry Corp, a State-owned enterprise that is the nation's only authorized firm for international space collaboration.