THE Chinese Ambassador to the UK has praised the links between his country and a North-East city.
His Excellency Zha Peixin met representatives from the University of Sunderland's Chinese student community during his first visit to the region.
There are 470 students from the People's Republic at the university, which is the preferred training provider for the Chinese Managers Training Programme. Chinese student numbers have grown 1,500 per cent during the past three years.
Ambassador Zha said: "I very much enjoyed spending time with the students and have been impressed by the university, which has established good educational links with China. The relationship between the UK and China is pretty good, with visits and exchange programmes in education, business, trade, economics and tourism. I hope the co-operation can be further expanded."
As well as visiting the university's Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's, Ambassador Zha and his wife, Minister Counsellor Zhang Xiaokang enjoyed a taste of English culture with supper at Lumley Castle Hotel and a visit to the Stadium of Light for Sunderland AFC's match against Chelsea.
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