Cooperation in education and research between China and the United Kingdom will benefit both countries and help students grow, said Zheng Zeguang, China's ambassador to the UK, during his visit to the University of Nottingham on Wednesday.

In his meeting with Shearer West, vice-chancellor of the University of Nottingham, Zheng pointed out that China is committed to pursuing modernization with Chinese characteristics and cultivating new quality productive forces to advance high-quality development.

"Sustainability, engineering, life science, agriculture – all these are very important for China, and we're also facing many global challenges, such as climate change and public health," said Zheng, "It's all the more important that researchers of both countries collaborate and learn from each other."

With China's huge market demand, good ideas, innovations, and scientific research can be applied to products very quickly, Zheng added.

West agreed with Zheng and cited the university's campus in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, as a good example of educational cooperation.

The University of Nottingham Ningbo China was the first Sino-foreign university to open its doors in China, in 2004, and now hosts about 10,000 students, faculties, and staff members from 70 countries and regions around the world.

Last week, West went to China to attend the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the campus.

"I was very impressed by our students and alumni from Ningbo campus, a number of them have pursued further studies in the world's top 50 universities, and then come back to China to take up leadership and senior roles in different areas," she said.

West added that the university is strong in sustainability and pharmacy studies, where there are already many collaborations with China, and wants to continue to build on those strengths.

In conclusion, Zheng said: "There are around 300 million students on campus in China … I hope that the University of Nottingham will further expand its cooperation in teaching and research with Chinese universities so as to create more opportunities for mutual learning between Chinese and British youth and for their growth."

During the visit, Zheng also met with and spoke to representatives of Chinese students studying at the university.