China announced on Saturday a five-year scheme to encourage students from European Union (EU) countries to learn Chinese.

As from 2007, the Chinese government will provide 100 scholarships per year for EU young students, said a joint statement released after an EU-China summit on Saturday.

China and the EU recognized that the strengthening of educational cooperation served as the social and cultural foundation for the sustainable development of the EU-China comprehensive strategic partnership, said the statement.

"The two sides will conduct deeper and wider cooperation, jointly discuss the mechanism and priorities for future cooperation, and make an effort to institutionalize such cooperation."

The Chinese side expressed interest in concluding in the future an EU-China Education Cooperation and Exchanges Agreement.

The leaders endorsed cooperation in establishing an EU-China Law School. The relevant departments of the two sides will continue to conduct consultations in this regard with a view to reaching agreement at an early date.

Source: Xinhua