Visit of senior official reaffirms friendship, cooperation between China, UK

EDINBURGH, Britain, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Stirring emotion and memories, the sound of Scottish highland bagpipe ushered in the procession of academics, all in academic dresses, to the packed hall decorated with panels and frescos. The processing was carried out as it had been over the past century for the degree conferral.

The traditional ceremony was held at the University of Edinburgh on Tuesday to renew the time-tested friendship between China and Britain, as Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the prestigious university.

The award was given to Liu for her efforts to promote the teaching of Chinese language, cultural exchange and a wider understanding of China, according to the university.

The university's Vice Principal Jonathan Seckl said in his laureation address that Liu's contribution to international education has been recognized internationally and both Scotland and the University of Edinburgh have benefited from her efforts to promote the education of young people, cultural exchange and a wider understanding of China today.

In the academic dress, Liu stressed in her speech the important role that universities had been playing in the relations between China and Britain, which are officially in a "golden era".

She said that she hopes the University of Edinburgh to shepherd the two countries' endeavors to deepen their education cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

"A man's friendships are one of the best measures of his worth," Liu quoted the words of the British naturalist and geologist Charles Darwin, also alumni of the University of Edinburgh, to urge the two countries to further develop their friendship by deepening their pragmatic cooperation of educational institutes.

It was from this university of Edinburgh that Huang Kuan graduated in 1855, making him the first ever Chinese student to graduate from a European university with a doctoral degree.

One hundred and sixty two years later, the Scottish university once again, serves as an important institute for the people-to-people exchanges between China and Britain. Its Confucius Institute is one of the most active in the world. Starting with six students, the institute is now providing 20 courses per week to an average of 400 to 500 registered students per year.

Transformation of the institution is an epitome of the fast development of the Sino-UK people-to-people exchange which Liu's ongoing four-day visit is aimed to advance.

Her trip, which started Monday and will also take her to London and Oxford, coincided with the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the China-UK ambassadorial diplomatic relations.

The centerpiece of the visit is the fifth-annual UK-China High-Level People-to-People Dialogue -- the highest level Sino-UK dialogue to be held in Britain this year -- which Liu will jointly chair with British Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt.

The dialogue will cover 10 policy strands including health, education, culture and creative industries, science and innovation, tourism, sports, issues affecting young people, regional cooperation, issues impacting women and social equity.

This year's dialogue is themed "Spirit of Youth", which connects to a British government campaign that aims to inspire the next generation of leaders in China and the British and the promotion of deeper collaboration and exchange.

Liu is scheduled to meet with a number of senior figures including British Prime Minister Theresa May, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, and Princess Anne and Prince Andrew at Buckingham Palace.

She will also witness the launch of the UK-China Joint Science and Innovation Strategy, participate in a forum of CEOs involved in the creative industries and join a roundtable of young leaders. Enditem