China will launch its second orbiting space laboratory in two years' time, and finish construction of space station around 2022, a top space official said Wednesday.

Astronaut Yang Liwei, who in 2003 became China's first man in space and is now deputy director of the country's Manned Space Agency, made the announcement at the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) congress in Beijing.

"We are going to launch the space lab Tiangong-2 in 2016, and then we will launch Shenzhou-11 and then the Tianzhou-1 cargo spaceship to dock with the space lab," he said.

Shenzhou-11 is part of the manned Shenzhou space program, and Tiangong-1 is an unmanned delivery system. Shenzhou-10, China's fifth manned mission, launched on 11 June, 2013.

This is the first time China has hosted the annual ASE meeting, which has drawn nearly 100 astronauts from 18 countries to Beijing, a marker of the country's scientific progress.

Yang added that Beijing plans to launch an experimental core space station module in 2018 and finish construction of a Chinese space station around 2022.

Around the same time, the International Space Station, operated by the US, Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe, is due to be retired.

"We believe humans will continue carrying out further space and moon exploration activities," Yang said.

China has sent 10 astronauts - eight men and two women - into space on five separate missions, and has launched an orbiting space module, Tiangong-1. It also launched the Chang'e-3 lunar mission with a lunar rover late last year.

More women may be among the ranks of future Chinese astronauts, Yang said Wednesday.

Some are saying Yang's schedule may represent a slight delay - previous reports said Tiangong-2 would be launched around 2015 and a space station be finished around 2020.

Jiao Weixin, a space science professor with Peking University, said Yang's announcement should not be seen as a delay, as the earlier plan of 2020 was just an estimated timeframe.

The purposeful development of China's space program is in contrast with that of US space agency NASA. It launched its final space shuttle flight in 2011 and its next step remains uncertain amid waning domestic support.

NASA is also planning to shut down part of its space lab programs because of budget constraints, Jiao said.

The slowing down of space programs in the US and the EU means a chance for China's space  development, Jiao said. But he added that China's space technology is still a long way behind that of the US - China's latest carrier rocket, the Long March-5, has a load capacity less than the rocket the US used in the 1969 Apollo program. 

Several countries have already reportedly been in contact with Beijing about the possibility of collaborating in space.

Yang said China is willing to cooperate with other countries in space missions, as it has designed interfaces that would allow Chinese space modules to dock with those from other countries.

The country has also undergone far-reaching collaboration with other countries in space medicine, scientific experiments and astronaut selection, the astronaut said.

Wen Yan, a member of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), said China is also cooperating with developing countries like those in Latin America, as they are at a similar development level, and China can provide them help in these areas.

China will also start a program to train astronauts from other countries, according to Yang.

Wen also believes the development of space station is necessary for China, as well as other countries worldwide.

"Developing a space station reflects a country's comprehensive capability, though it takes a long time to see the return of benefits," she told the Global Times, adding that scientific experiments in the space lab may focus on medicine, agriculture and physics, which will help improve lives.

China's top universities have also participated in the space program. Peking University was asked several years ago to propose plausible space experiment projects involving space science and biology, Jiao noted.