In March 2008, Xi met Faust during her first visit to China after assuming the presidency of Harvard in 2007. People-to-people exchanges between the two countries have seen progress since then.

In 2009, US President Barack Obama announced the 100,000 Strong Initiative to encourage more US students to pursue studies in China. Michelle Obama, his wife, said last year that China was the fifth-most popular destination for US students.

China is the largest source of foreign students attending US universities, with more than 270,000 students studying there last year.

In another development, Xi met European Parliament President Martin Schulz on Monday at the Great Hall of the People.

Xi said he believed China and Europe could find new opportunities for cooperation in the coming 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), a blueprint for China's development. Schulz said that despite challenges in the relationship, the European side would like to strengthen pragmatic cooperation with China in various fields.

Schulz is leading a delegation in China from Sunday to Wednesday. He will visit Tianjin later and give a speech at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The EU has been China's largest trading partner for years. Two-way trade volume reached more than $615 billion last year, up 9.9 percent from the previous year.

Beijing and Brussels are expected to conclude an investment pact soon, China Daily quoted Schulz as saying earlier this month.