China denies report of hypersonic missile test
Al JazeeraBeijing dismisses the report in the Financial Times as inaccurate, saying it tested a space vehicle instead. “It was not a missile, it was a space vehicle,” ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular press briefing in Beijing when asked about the newspaper’s report, adding it had been a “routine test” for the purpose of testing technology to reuse the vehicle. Zhao added that the trial, which the foreign ministry said took place in July, not August, was of “great significance for reducing the use-cost of spacecraft and could provide a convenient and affordable way to make a round trip for mankind’s peaceful use of space.” He claimed that many countries had carried out similar tests in the past. Two of the sources cited by the newspaper said the trial showed that Beijing had made “astounding progress on hypersonic weapons and was far more advanced than US officials realised”. China’s space programme is run by its military and is closely tied to its agenda of building hypersonic missiles and other technologies that could alter the balance of power with the US.