China's Moon Plans

China is Now Positioned to Dominate the Moon, Paul Spudis
“The complexity of the Chang’E 5 mission profile is somewhat curious, since it would be much simpler to make a direct ascent from the lunar surface and head straight back to Earth (like the Soviet Luna sample return missions of the 1970s). The fact that China is adding the step of rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit is significant, as this step is a critical milestone for the certification of an architecture for human missions to the Moon. China’s choice of this mission profile for Chang’E 5 is a clear indication that they are planning such missions.”
Earlier post on China