On the occasion of President Jiang's visit to Germany, Minister of Education Chen Zhili and Luedger Folmer, the state minister in the German Foreign Ministry, on behalf of their respective government, signed a bilateral agreement Thursday in Berlin on acknowledging high-educational degrees of both sides.

The agreement is reported the first one of its kind signed between China and western developed countries.

According to the agreement, the degrees of bachelor, master, and doctor of the two countries are equivalent in the other part and Chinese bachelors with high grades may study for doctor's degree in Germany after passing relevant examines by German universities. The agreement will facilitate candidates from the two countries to receive further education in the other country.

As reported, more than 200 Chinese colleges and universities have established cooperation with nearly 100 German universities by far and there are nearly 30,000 Chinese students studying in Germany.

(People's Daily April 12, 2002)