A senior Chinese leader said on Wednesday the country would boost its educational exchange and cooperation with Britain.

State Councilor Liu Yandong made the statement when meeting with Alison Richard, the University of Cambridge vice-chancellor, in Beijing.

Liu spoke highly of the collaboration between Cambridge and the Chinese educational and scientific circle.

"The reform and development of education is the top priority of the Chinese government," she said, adding the country should strengthen its international cooperation on the cultivation of high-calibre talent and high-level scientific research.

Liu hoped the famed British university could expand its exchanges with its Chinese counterparts to increase understanding and friendship between young people.

"The cooperation with Cambridge University is a good example and a key component of our educational cooperation with Britain."

Richard, who was here to celebrate the university's 120 years of cooperation with China, said her school was facing "a real opportunity" to deepen its cooperation.

The two also touched upon other issues in their hour-long discussion, including the establishment of a low-carbon laboratory between Cambridge, MIT and China's Qinghua University, and the expansion of cooperation between the Confucius Institute in Britain and Chinese universities.

Richard also invited Chinese Olympic medalists to study at Cambridge, a proposal warmly seconded by Liu.

Richard, Cambridge's 344th vice-chancellor, is the principal academic and administrative officer for the university. She is the first woman to hold the position full-time.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2008)