Real intent may be to usher in lunar ownership claims.

Bao Weimin, a Director of the Science and Technology Commission of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) has been reported in Chinese and Russian state media as suggesting that China would benefit from establishing an “Earth-Moon Special Economic Zone”.

Bao said that Beijing is considering creating the first Earth-Moon economic zone by 2050. According to him, China is planning to invest in studies on how much it would cost for the idea to come to fruition, as well as for the deployment of a transportation system linking Earth and its natural satellite.