AIUI, the CZ-8 is a CZ-7 with solida and an hydrolox upper stage. That would replace the CZ-3 series.
Speaking at an asteroid exploration forum in Beijing on Monday, Ye Peijian, a senior deep space scientist, said that China will in the future "study ways to send robots or astronauts to mine suitable asteroids and transport the resources back to Earth."While this sounds exciting, it is a far cry from a declaration of a 'space race' with other space-faring nations and private ventures to mine asteroids, and has been widely misinterpreted or exaggerated in press reports....That said, China does have a least asteroid mission likely to take off within the next decade.One practical step being taken by China in this realm is the development of a mission to flyby, track and collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid. Though not approved, it is understood that at least two teams are working on different variations of this, and at least one will be launched within ten years.
The agreement will see cooperation between the two countries in the areas of Moon exploration, deep space missions, remote sensing, space vehicles, and ground infrastructure. Other topics include Chinese use of the Russian module of the International Space Station (ISS), and Chinese use of Russian Earth Observation (EO) satellite data.This announcement comes a month after a meeting between Russian space agency Roscosmos and CNSA in Moscow, which coincided with Russia’s largest airshow, MAKS-2017, where CNSA was an exhibitor.This cooperation agreement is not new; Russia and China have collaborated closely over the years, with Glavcosmos stating in its website that “the People’s Republic of China has a special place among our commercial partners”, referring to the Russian-Chinese Space Cooperation Programme.With the 2018-2022 agreement, however, it seems the Russian and Chinese space industries are deepening their relationship. The possible use of the ISS by the Chinese will directly contravene NASA’s directive to bar China from the ISS, which is said to be the reason why China is in the process of building its own space station.Also, it possibly highlights Russia’s determination to continue operating a space station after 2024, which NASA is uncertain about; to this, Russia has responded by saying it will form its own space station if the ISS is shut down after 2024...
China, Russia set to ink landmark deal for manned moon missionsSPACE CGTN2017-08-27 21:55 GMT+8Share China and Russia are set to sign a milestone agreement on joint space exploration from 2018 to 2022. The deal is expected to be signed this October and will bring significant benefits to both nations, particularly in manned and future missions to the moon. The idea and possibility of once again having humans return to the moon have floated around for quite some time, but after this deal, that prospect is likely to turn into a reality.The bilateral agreement will cover five areas including lunar and deep space exploration, developing special materials, collaboration in the area of satellite systems, Earth remote sensing, and space debris research.This is not the first space agreement between China and Russia, but it is the first to cover a partnership spanning five years, a period that allows for more ambitious plans and goals to be achieved.Russia's space industry has made great achievements over the course of its history, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, its space program has suffered from a chronic shortage of funds.In order to keep it afloat in the face of ever rising costs, Russia is looking for international partners and collaborators. In addition to the promising deal with China, Russia is also working with the US and Europe.
I'm not sure what Russia brings to the table to benefit China at this point, but this collaboration might be more for political than technical reasons.
RHU's and RTG's, at least