China may send manned flights to the moon and set up a base there by 2030 and it could land on Mars by 2050, a technology think thank said.

In a roadmap for the development of China's space technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said that China's manned spacecraft could also launch from a moon base to explore further planets in 2050.

The roadmap was part of a report titled "Creation 2050: Science, technology and China's Future", a long-term strategy for the country's development of science and technology.