The first and only Romanian cosmonaut Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu has praised China's openness to space cooperation with all nations.

Prunariu said young European astronauts are getting prepared to cooperate with China on space missions, as they have begun to take Chinese language lessons besides their training.

Prunariu made the remarks on Monday as 12 astronauts and cosmonauts from eight countries gathered here to celebrate the 35th anniversary of his first space flight.

In May, 1981, Prunariu and Soviet cosmonaut Leonid Popov aboarded the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz and completed scientific experiments at the Salyut 6 space station.During the eight-day mission, Prunariu performed 14 scientific experiments in astrophysics, nuclear physics, space technology, aviation medicine and biology.

After his successful mission in 1981, Prunariu held several important posts. In 2014, he was elected for a two-year term as the vice-chairman of the International Relations Committee of European Space Agency(ESA). He also served as the president of the European section of the Association of Space Explorers(ASE), a professional organization for astronauts which now has 400 members from more than 30 countries.

Right now, cooperation(with China) takes place within the ASE, of which six Chinese astronauts have become members and China's first astronaut Yang Liwei has become a member of the executive board, according to 63-year-old Prunariu.

The Romanian cosmonaut said he was happy to carry out good cooperation with the Chinese astronauts.

"China is a huge cosmic power... it has the highest level of development in space technology. It can launch satellites, and is currently building its own orbital space station," he said.

International cooperation is the key for success in space ...the ESA will define how European astronauts can train and work on Chinese space shuttles, said Prunariu.

When gathering for the celebration, the 12 astronauts and cosmonauts, coming from the United States, Russia, Britain, Germany, France, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, and Hungary, called for better protection of the Earth.

"Their presence and their statements made here during these days prove that space is an area of international cooperation for peaceful purposes and an area that people understand what means to planet Earth and the need to protect Earth." said Prunariu.