top Chinese space official sees major venues for cooperation in human space exploration, as that nation prepares to send its first piloted spaceship into Earth orbit as early as tonight. Three Chinese “taikonaut” finalists went to the launch site Monday as other nations were starting to watch closely — and wonder what it means for them. Beijing, which has promoted space travel as a nationalistic endeavor, has kept its exact activities secret. Zhang Qingwei, deputy chief commander of China’s manned spaceflight program, identified five areas where China hopes for international space cooperation: