NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has warned that China is boosting its space presence by using civilian programs to cover up its military ambitions, Ednews reports citing NTV.

he stressed that China, which is seen as the biggest rival of the United States in the space race, can "claim" the lunar lands if it lands on the moon earlier.

"China has made extraordinary advances, especially in the last 10 years, but they keep them very, very secret," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a speech about China's military presence in space.

Nelson continued: “We believe that most of China's civilian space missions are military programs. 

He emphasized that he hoped Beijing would "come to its senses and understand that civilian space is used for peaceful purposes."

The president of NASA said that the United States should land on the moon again before China, as both countries have carried out missions to the moon.

Nelson said that the United States would face great danger if Beijing were to send an astronaut to the moon first, and stressed that he was worried that Beijing would say, "We came first. This is our territory, you stay out."

Nelson previously said the US was in a "space race" with China and warned that China could eventually "claim ownership" of the resource-rich region of the Moon.