Tsinghua University, one of China's most prestigious universities, Thursday announced the official opening of its medical school.

Wu Jieping, a noted physician and also vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), was named president of the medical school.

The school will be built into a high-level and research-oriented facility and is meant to become a base for training high-quality medical talents and developing new medical technologies and medicines, said Wang Dazhong, president of the university. The medical school will draw teaching experience from foreign counterparts and adopt first-edition English teaching materials.

Lessons given in English are also planned, according to sources. The school signed cooperative memorandum with the medical college of the University of Hong Kong to strengthen exchanges in teaching and information.

(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2001)