At a seminar in east China's Jiangsu Province, presidents from ten prestigious universities in China have discussed ways of turning their universities into world-class tertiary institutions.

The three-day seminar will focus on such topics as building universities for the new millennium and ways to intensify scientific and technological research with economic and social reforms.

Participants in the seminar included Chen Jia'er, president of Beijing University, Wang Shenghong from Fudan University, Wang Dazhong from Qinghua University, Patrick Cheng Yiu-Chung from the University of Hong Kong, and Woo Hia-Wai from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Jiang Shusheng, member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and president of Nanjing University, said at the opening session of the seminar: "The renewal of knowledge and training of people with the courage to blaze new trails has aroused great interest around the world. Institutions of higher learning should combine training their best students with fostering scientific research." Chinese universities should provide their excellent services and increase academic exchanges, added Jiang.