NASA chief Michael Griffin, pictured 21 September 2006, is to hold talks Sunday with Chinese space officials, the US embassy said. (File/AFP)   Sept. 24 - NASA chief Michael Griffin is to hold talks Sunday with Chinese space officials, the US embassy said, in what would be the first visit to China by the head of the US space agency.

 

An embassy official said Griffin would "probably" arrive Saturday but could give no further details. The visit is scheduled to last until Thursday.

 

Sunday's meetings include one with Sun Laiyan, head of the China's national space administration.

 

"My goal is to become acquainted with my counterparts in China and to understand their goals for space exploration," Griffin said in a statement by NASA.

 

Earlier this week Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Beijing hoped for closer cooperation with the United States on space.

 

The limits on bilateral cooperation to date are because of the military's influence on China's space programme, and Beijing has several times seen its space officials refused entry to the United States.

 

China entered the exclusive rank of top space nations in 2003 when it sent up its first manned mission, joining the United States and Russia.

 

In 2005 it launched a second orbiting mission with two astronauts, and also hopes to send an unmanned probe to the Moon by 2010.

 

China spends US$500 million a year on its space programmes, according to official figures. NASA's proposed budget for 2007 is nearly $17 billion.