China in Space.

China often states that it is a developing country, but do developing countries make plans for missions to Mars? There was a recent article by James Reynolds of BBC News, Wuhan, titled "Space show draws in the Chinese", while it is common knowledge that China has recently in the past few years launched a manned mission into space they actively seek a great deal more than Earth orbits. Liu Jiyuan, China's former head of their space agency, was interviewed for the article an expressly stated his hopes for further missions to the Moon and later to Mars with Russian help. In the article national prestige is cited as the main reason for the development of a space program, and that is an outstanding reason in my own opinion, but why as soon as possible? Thus this leads to my first question do developing countries go into space and beyond? Angola doesn't have a space program, neither do the Bolivians. Only the most technologically advanced countries maintain the ability to reach space, but few even attempt it. The Japanese are certainly capable as are the French, and South Koreans, but only a handful have endeavored on the course of physical space exploration. Interestingly, it is doubtful that the US and Russia would have poured so many resources into such achievements if not for prestige during the Cold War. As such, space exploration cannot really be termed as a requirement for a developing or developed nation. What it does say is that such national actors feel secure in their own economic and social status to display their technological savvy on the world stage. The term "developing" refers to a second tier status of a nation, but at the same time can easily shield it from closure scrutiny and responsibility, such as the Kyoto Accords (Which some "developed" countries also refuse to adhere to thus shirking their responsibility). In response it seems that the term itself is groundless. Today both eastern and western cultures and societies understand the powerful role of the Chinese economy and the integrated status on the global economy. As such doesn't that make them developed? They have many if not all the characteristics of a developed nation (nuclear weapons, law and order, educational systems, military establishments, a leader on the world stage to be reckoned with) so why let China duck under its role as a world leader? There are only five permanent members on the UN security council and it is without a doubt that they are all developed and all carry responsibility for the world we live in.