中国发展航天事业的宗旨是：探索外层空间，扩展对地球和宇宙的认识；和平利用外层空间，促进人类文明和社会进步，造福全人类；满足经济建设、科技发展、国家安全和社会进步等方面的需求，提高全民科学文化素质，维护国家权益，增强综合国力。

    中国发展航天事业服从和服务于国家整体发展战略，坚持科学发展、自主发展、和平发展、创新发展、开放发展的原则。

    ——科学发展。尊重科学、尊重规律，从航天事业的发展实际出发，统筹兼顾和科学部署空间技术、空间应用和空间科学等各项航天活动，保持航天事业全面、协调、可持续发展。

The purposes of China's space industry are: to explore outer space and to enhance understanding of the Earth and the cosmos; to utilize outer space for peaceful purposes, promote human civilization and social progress, and to benefit the whole of mankind; to meet the demands of economic development, scientific and technological development, national security and social progress; and to improve the scientific and cultural knowledge of the Chinese people, protect China's national rights and interests, and build up its national comprehensive strength.

China's space industry is subject to and serves the national overall development strategy, and adheres to the principles of scientific, independent, peaceful, innovative, and open development.

-- Scientific development. China respects science and the laws of nature. Keeping the actual situation of its space industry in mind, it works out comprehensive plans and arrangement of its activities regarding space technology, space applications and space science, in order to maintain comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of the industry.

    ——自主发展。始终坚持走独立自主、自力更生的发展道路，主要依靠自身力量，根据国情和国力，自主发展航天事业，满足国家现代化建设的基本需求。

    ——和平发展。始终坚持和平利用外层空间，反对外空武器化和外空军备竞赛，合理开发和利用空间资源，切实保护空间环境，使航天活动造福全人类。

    ——创新发展。把提高自主创新能力作为航天事业发展的战略基点，强化工业基础，完善创新体系，以实施航天重大科技工程为载体，集中力量，重点突破，实现航天科技跨越发展。

-- Independent development. Keeping to the path of independence and self-reliance, China relies primarily on its own capabilities to develop its space industry to meet the needs of modernization, based upon its actual conditions and strength.

-- Peaceful development. China always adheres to the use of outer space for peaceful purposes, and opposes weaponization or any arms race in outer space. The country develops and utilizes space resources in a prudent manner and takes effective measures to protect the space environment, ensuring that its space activities benefit the whole of mankind.

-- Innovative development. China's strategy for the development of its space industry is to enhance its capabilities of independent innovation, consolidate its industrial foundation, and improve its innovation system. By implementing important space science and technology projects, the country concentrates its strength on making key breakthroughs for leap-frog development in this field.