Harvard University will cooperate more with foreign universities to encourage an international outlook among students, Lawrence Summers, president of Harvard University, told the Second Conference of the Association of Harvard University Alumni Clubs of Asia which ended in Beijing Monday.

About 1,000 Harvard Alumni attended the conference with the theme of "Asia in a Converging World: the Impact of Globalization on Economics, Environment, and Education."

Xue Junzhi, president of the Harvard Club of Beijing which organized the event, said that the purpose of holding the conference was to enhance communication and exchanges between Harvard alumni to create more opportunities for cooperation between individuals, different regions and even countries.

Participants discussed a variety of topics, such as "China's Role in 21st Century Asia," "International Cooperation on Education," "Internationalization and Localization," and "Women and Business."

Summers said he had visited China many times and noted the great changes that had taken place here since his first visit in 1979.

He mentioned the challenges the world faced during the process of globalization, including maintaining world peace, environmental protection, eradicating disease, economic growth and the need for balance between the traditional and the modern.

He also emphasized the necessity for cooperation between Harvard and foreign universities. A project aiming to train senior Chinese government officials was activated at the beginning of this year by Tsinghua University with support from Harvard, he said.

Harvard is one of the most prestigious universities in the United States. Since its establishment in 1636, Harvard has produced a great number of top people in their fields who now play important roles in business, law and science as well as academic and political circles around the world.

(People's Daily May 13, 2002)