China's first lunar probe program had been delayed as the country had to wait for the belated arrival of an imported component, an official in charge of the country's moon probe mission said here Thursday.

Hu Hao, deputy director of the moon probe project, made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua prior to the third session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.

"The delayed delivery of imported components for the project happened from time to time," said Hu, an NPC deputy. "Our efforts in space probe are affected by other countries due to our relatively weakness in technology."

About 20 percent of components of China's first lunar probe, the Chang'e-1 satellite, were imported, and the chip used in the Satellite's CCD camera arrived more than six months behind the schedule, he said.

He said that not all domestically-developed instrument can meet the special requirements for exploration in outer space.

"To make breakthrough in fields like the aerospace projects, we must redouble our efforts in the research and development of core technologies and basic advanced components," he said.

China sent its first lunar probe Chang'e 1 into space in 2007.

Previous reports said China planned to launch the Chang'e-2, the country's second lunar probe, at the end of 2010.