Officials and experts from China and Italy called for advancement of educational cooperation between the two nations in Beijing on Saturday.

They made the remarks at the China-Italy University Rectors Dialogue held at Peking University. Representatives from China's Ministry of Education, the Ministry of University and Research of Italy and the Italian Embassy in China, and delegates from nearly 50 universities from both countries participated in the event.

"Higher education is increasingly becoming a precious wealth and major resource for a country," Huai Jinpeng, Chinese education minister, said. "It is hoped that Chinese and Italian universities can adhere to the principles of openness and inclusiveness, tap into complementary advantages of each other and expand their scope of cooperation," he added.

Huai further called for a deeper international humanities exchange, enhanced scientific research collaboration, and in-depth exchanges among young students from both countries to inject more positive energy into the future development of bilateral relations.

"In April this year, when the delegation of our university visited Italy, we presented part of the works of The Series of Ancient Chinese Paintings, a comprehensive visual archive of ancient Chinese paintings utilizing cutting-edge technologies, to the University of Bologna," Du Jiangfeng, president of Zhejiang University, told China Daily.

"Both China and Italy are ancient civilizations, and I look forward to more research and cooperation with Italian universities on digital cultural heritage protection in the future," said Du.

Citing Marco Polo and Matteo Ricci as examples, Tiziana Lippiello, the executive committee member of the Italian Rectors' Conference and Rector of Venice University, highlighted the importance of mutual respect and communication in exchanges.

She expressed her hope that "the dialogue could provide an opportunity to consolidate and strengthen the relationship between Italy and China, provide more new growth opportunities for young people, and promote cultural, scientific, and societal development."