“Tiangong 1 and Shenzhou 9, in the task of manned rendezvous and docking, have achieved complete success,” Wen said.

“This is another outstanding contribution by the Chinese people to humanity’s efforts to explore and use space.”

China is far from catching up with the established space superpowers, the United States and Russia. But the Shenzhou 9 marked China’s fourth manned space mission since 2003, and comes as budget restraints and shifting priorities have held back U.S. manned space launches.

The United States will not test a new rocket to take people into space until 2017 and Russia has said manned missions are no longer a priority.

NASA has begun investing in U.S. firms to provide commercial spaceflight services and is spending about $3 billion a year on a new rocket and capsule to send astronauts to the moon, asteroids and eventually to Mars.

China says it has spent about $6 billion on its manned space program since 1992.

Beijing plans an unmanned moon landing and deployment of a moon rover and its scientists have raised the possibility of sending a man to the moon, but not before 2020.

China is also jostling with neighbors Japan and India for a bigger presence in space, but its plans have faced international wariness. Beijing says its aims are peaceful.