China will offer over 100 exchange opportunities to Italian universities, with the aim of further deepening higher education exchanges between the two countries, Huai Jinpeng, the Chinese minister of education, said on Saturday.

Huai made the announcement at the opening ceremony of the China-Italy University Rectors Dialogue held in Beijing, stating that China will offer at least five fully funded student exchange opportunities to each of the 22 Italian universities participating in the event.

At the opening ceremony, the Italy leg of a high-level initiative to double the scale of European youth exchanges in China was launched, and several Chinese and Italian universities also signed agreements to jointly build research centers and campuses.

"Currently, China and Italy boast all-round, wide-ranging and multi-layered education exchanges and cooperation," Huai noted, adding that China is now the largest source country of international students in Italy, while Italy ranks among the top five European countries in terms of the number of its own students studying in China.

To date, universities from both countries have jointly established 45 collaborative higher education institutions and programs, as well as nine international research laboratories with a focus on cutting-edge and foundational disciplines as well as high-tech engineering fields.

"We sincerely hope that universities in both countries can make full use of various opportunities such as short-term study visits, student exchanges, summer schools and joint training programs to promote in-depth exchanges among Chinese and Italian youth," Huai added.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership. Over the past two decades, educational exchanges and cooperation between the two sides have played a significant role in enhancing mutual understanding between the two peoples.

"More than 700 years ago, Marco Polo's travels connected the Chinese and Western civilizations. Looking into the future, we will continue the spirit of mutual respect and exchange in dialogue and cooperation, and create more opportunities for the young people of both countries," said Tiziana Lippiello, board member of the Conference of Italian University Rectors, at the ceremony.

The dialogue was jointly organized by China's Ministry of Education and the Italian Ministry of University and Research, with representatives from nearly 50 universities in both countries attending.

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