Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong met in Beijing on Wednesday with Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust, calling on the prestigious US university to expand exchanges and cooperation with the Chinese educational circle.

Liu said the Harvard University has a long history of exchanges with China and has established steady ties of extensive cooperation with Chinese governmental departments and universities.

She said she believed that under the leadership of Faust, Harvard will continue to expand exchanges and cooperation with China's educational circle and promote mutual understanding and friendship between the youth of both countries.

When briefing the US guests on China's policies on education, Liu stressed that the Chinese government considers education as a strategic task and has given priority to the development of education.

This is the first visit to China by Faust since she assumed the post of Harvard president. During her stay in Beijing, she accepted an honorary doctor degree of China's Peking University, and gave speeches at Peking University and Tsinghua University, another prestigious Chinese university.

(Xinhua News Agency March 27, 2008)