Vice-Premier Liu Yandong addressed the opening of the China and European Union (EU) Education Ministers Conference held in Beijing on Oct 11.

In her speech, Liu lauded the contributions made through dialogues on education policies and student exchanges in deepening friendship and relations between China and EU.

China and EU should strengthen policy communications, promote the integration of education standards, language and people-to-people exchanges to form a solid foundation for a healthy bilateral relationship, she said.

The opening ceremony was attended by education ministers, senior representatives, diplomats and scholars from 34 European countries.

According to official statistics, China and EU countries have signed more than 80 bilateral agreements on educational cooperation, and 131 Confucius Institutes have been set up in EU countries, with more than 620,000 students.