Following the successful launch of China's third manned space mission, Shenzhou-7, experts and officials of space agencies from around the world have hailed the victory as a significant development in China's space industry.

Tal Inbar is the chief of the space and UAV research center at Israel's Fisher Institute for air and space strategic studies, who has paid close attention to China's manned space program since the early 1990s. He said China's space program is taking progressive steps towards building a space station and a long-term mission to the moon.

"A space walk is the central part of every advanced manned space program. You must have the knowledge and the technical know-how about how to go outside the spacecraft in order to fix things and construct large structures in space. So it's a major stepping stone in the Chinese manned space program."

Jonathan Nicholls, Registrary of the University of Cambridge, says he's impressed by China's rapid development in space.

"That is actually clearly a sign of the huge step forward, and we know the remarkable success the Chinese people again in the fields of technology and science."

Scott Pace, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, congratulated China on its achievement, saying the successful launch of Shenzhou-7 will encourage the United States to further progress in space science.

"I think the achievements of China space, which China should be congratulated on ?? they should not serve as a form of competition, but they should serve as a reminder to the United States that we cannot stand still, that we have to keep moving forward exploring."

Global news agencies have been following the event closely. Thursday's launch was broadcast live on the BBC, CNN, and other international TV stations.