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“The more data our scientists have that they can work on, the better it will be for us all,” Bergquist tells TIME.

For its part, China doesn’t want to close its space station doors—Tiangong is open to all U.N. member states. The ESA has even planned for its astronauts to board the Tiangong, though this has been stalled pending further discussion with Beijing. One of the station’s designers told state media that Tiangong is “inclusive” and designed to be adaptable for non-Chinese astronauts. And at least 1,000 scientific experiments will be conducted in the station, Nature reports, mostly involving Chinese researchers but also including projects led by researchers from 17 other countries and regions like Kenya, Russia, Mexico, Japan and Peru, some of which are struggling to support their own space initiatives.

While the U.S. is decades of operational experience ahead of the Chinese space program, China’s willingness to partner with other countries may be cementing its place as a space power today. Since 2016, China has made 46 space cooperation agreements with 19 different countries and regions.

“I don’t believe [China] wants to be confrontational,” Parker tells TIME. “I think they want people to like them; I think they want to be trusted.”