Beijing  - Chinese spacecraft Shenzhou 7 returned safely Sunday to Earth after a three-day trip into space that included China's first ever spacewalk.

The three taikonauts on board touched down safely near the planned landing site in the northern Chinese province of Inner Mongolia at 5:38 pm (0938 GMT) as the capsule's descent by parachute was carried live on Chinese state television, ending a 68-hour mission.

The craft withstood the dangerous re-entry into Earth's atmosphere well, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The taikonauts were also in good health, Xinhua reported, citing ground control officials in Beijing. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was present in the ground control centre to watch the landing.

Beijing - Aircraft builder Airbus opened an assembly plant in China on Sunday, its first production facility outside of Europe.

Airbus said it viewed the modern facility in the port city of Tianjin one hour to the south-east of the capital Beijing as a "milestone" in the globalization of the company's production.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Airbus head Thomas Enders were both present at the opening ceremony on Sunday.

The investment in the plant was between 8 billion and 12 billion yuan (1.2 billion to 1.8 billion dollars), state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

Four A320 Airbus craft are expected to be assembled at the Tianjin plant each month by 2011 at the latest.

Beijing - As China's Shenzhou 7 spacecraft prepared for return to Earth later Sunday, Chinese space officials said a fire alarm that went off during its first spacewalk was false.

Wang Zhaoyao, spokesperson for the country's manned space programme, said late Saturday that an alarm sounded because of sensor error, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

"We were quite nervous when the astronaut in the re-entry module reported the fire alarm," he told reporters.

Beijing  - China's first spacewalk got under way Saturday as astronaut Zhai Zhigang slipped out of the Shenzhou VII spacecraft and said, "I feel well."

Zhai, the commander of the three-man mission, waved to cameras broadcasting the event live in China as he left the craft's orbital module at 4:39 pm (0839 GMT).

"I am here greeting the Chinese people and people of the whole world," the astronaut told mission control in Beijing.

Beijing  - Chinese officialdom hailed on Saturday the country's first spacewalk as another reason for national "pride and joy," along with the successful conclusion of the 2008 Olympic Games.

The official party organ the People's Daily said that Saturday's spacewalk by astronaut Zhai Zhigang was further evidence of the "nation's continuing technical capabilities," and added that "the small step" by Zhai was "a historic leap in Chinese dreams of space travel."

The spacewalk got under way as Zhai, commander of the three-man mission, slipped out of the Shenzhou VII spacecraft orbiting 343 kilometres above Earth and said, "I feel good."

Beijing - Preparations for China's first spacewalk, scheduled for Saturday, went without a hitch, said Chinese mission control, which confirmed the commander of the mission would get the honour of being the first Chinese to step out into space.

Zhai Zhigang is to leave the Shenzhou VII spacecraft about 4:30 pm (0830 GMT) for a half-hour spacewalk.

Zhai, 41, is to test his 120-kilogram, Chinese-made protective suit, which cost 4 million to 30 million dollars, according to various state media reports.

He was also slated to perform tasks including the retrieval of a 3-kilogram solid lubricant experiment from the rear of Shenzhou VII.