A female astronaut from the United States has spoken highly of the development of China's aerospace program, and of the nation's first female astronaut, Liu Yang.

In an exchange between female astronauts from China and the US held on Thursday at Beihang University, or Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics, Sandra Magnus, a US astronaut, said she was impressed by the progress China has made.

"The space program in China is very impressive," she said. "You have had a space station module and have done an amazing docking since flying the first person to space 10 years ago.