Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday called for enhanced mutual learning and people-to-people ties through friendly and sincere exchanges between the educational communities of China and New Zealand.

Li made the remarks when addressing the closing ceremony of a forum on education development between China and New Zealand in Auckland. He attended the ceremony with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

Li said that China will provide New Zealand with 100 International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarships, 1,000 "Chinese Bridge" summer camp opportunities in China, and 5,000 Chinese books in the next five years.

China welcomes more young people from New Zealand to learn the Chinese language and culture, and supports more Chinese young people to visit and study in New Zealand to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the younger generations of the two countries, he noted.

Li said that educational cooperation has long been an important aspect of China-New Zealand relations. The breadth and depth of this cooperation have continuously expanded, yielding significant results in talent cultivation, joint scientific research and academic exchange.

The new round of scientific and technological revolution is profoundly changing the way of human production and life, and education is facing higher requirements in terms of reform and innovation. Therefore, the educational communities of China and New Zealand should cooperate more closely, Li said.

The premier pointed out that universities in China and New Zealand have always played an important role in promoting educational exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.

Li expressed his hope that the educational communities of the two countries will focus on the direction of the world's technological revolution and industrial transformation, advance high-level joint scientific research and the training of high-level talents in key frontier areas, thereby providing more scientific and technological support as well as talent support for the future development of both countries.

It is hoped that they will also focus on the common challenges faced by human society, strengthen collaborative efforts in areas such as climate change, green energy, and health, and make more positive contributions to the sustainable development of China, New Zealand, and the world at large, Li said, adding that he hopes they will also focus on the actual educational needs of the two peoples and carry out more practical cooperation projects that benefit a wide range of teachers and students.

Some 160 university presidents, representatives of educational institutions, and other professionals from educational communities of both countries also attended the event.

For his part, Luxon said that long-term educational cooperation between New Zealand and China is a key aspect of bilateral cooperation, which is conducive to enhancing mutual understanding and benefits both peoples. New Zealand will continue to support the deepening of educational cooperation between the two countries, he said.

At the closing ceremony, Li presented Chinese books to student representatives of the Confucius Institute and the Confucius Classroom in New Zealand, and Luxon presented award certificates to the recipients of the Prime Minister's Scholarship for Asia and of the Tripartite Partnership Fund.