HONG KONG - The national delegation of aerospace scientists has received a "warmer than expected" welcome from students during its visit to Hong Kong's universities, the senior scientist who is leading the delegation said.

The national space institutions will establish a mechanism to maintain regular exchanges with Hong Kong universities in a bid to leverage Hong Kong's advantages in advancing the country's space missions, said Zhao Xiaojin, vice-president of the China Academy of Space Technology.

Zhao made the remarks at a media briefing on Thursday. Members of the high-level delegation led by Zhao gave two in-person lectures at two local universities and had a closed-door meeting with their counterparts at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

He quoted leaders of the University of Hong Kong, one of the two higher institutions holding the talks, as saying that it has been years since the university has seen such a popular lecture at which students were so actively engaged. Many students who couldn't attend due to the pandemic watched the live broadcast.

Members of the delegation, who arrived in the city on Tuesday, are also expected to talk to the city's secondary-school students on Friday.

"The two universities asked me about the feasibility of having their students intern or even work at national space institutions in the future. That should not be a problem. Hong Kong students are welcome," said Zhao, who is also Party chief of the China Academy of Space Technology.

Zhao said six of the delegates had studied at Hong Kong universities before they returned to the Chinese mainland, and they shared their experiences at PolyU about working on the mainland.

Hong Kong scientists have been working with the scientists from the Chinese mainland on many national aerospace projects, and there is room for closer and deeper collaboration, Zhao said.

Looking ahead, more important projects are in the works, and the nation needs Hong Kong's scientists and youngsters to take part in its missions to become a space power, Zhao said.