BEIJING - China is developing a cargo spaceship to supply the nation's future space station, said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space program.

Supply technology is one of the keys to sustaining a space station's operation with regular deliveries of fuel, food and equipment, as well as experimental devices.

"The Soviet Union's Mir space station, which de-orbited in 2001, needed supplies from a cargo ship four times a year. Our cargo spaceship will have more capacity than that, so we will need to make fewer deliveries," Zhou said.