China should strengthen planning for its high-quality universities to run academic programs abroad, a deputy to the National People's Congress said.

Zhang Rong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and secretary of the Party Committee of Xiamen University, said that by speeding up efforts to let Chinese universities go global, China will be able to learn more from international experience and gain stronger educational, science and talent support for its strategy to turn itself into a leading country in education.

The move will also help foster closer international exchanges in education, science and technology and culture in order to bring about win-win cooperation, Zhang said.

More than 8,700 people from nearly 50 countries are studying on the campus of Xiamen University set up in Malaysia in 2016, Zhang said, adding that more than 6,200 people have graduated.

Xiamen University is advancing its cooperation with universities and research institutions in Malaysia, Zhang also said.