BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Friday jointly met with representatives attending the China-Italy Cultural Cooperation Mechanism Conference and the Dialogue between Chinese and Italian University Presidents in Beijing.

The two heads of state heard reports from representatives of the two sides on China-Italy cultural and university cooperation.

Xi pointed out that the friendly exchanges between China and Italy which date back over a thousand years have nourished endless bilateral cultural and people-to-people exchanges, setting a fine example of equal dialogue and common development among different civilizations.

In recent years, the China-Italy Cultural Cooperation Mechanism has promoted the launching of the Year of Culture and Tourism in each other's countries, and pioneered the model of twinning relationships between the two countries' UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Universities of the two countries have conducted extensive academic and youth exchanges, and expanded joint research in emerging disciplines, with fruitful results, Xi said.

The world has entered a new period of disorder and transformation, Xi said, calling on the two sides to work together to encourage more people of vision to practice China-Italy friendship and cooperation, promote mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations, and participate in the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, so as to make a joint contribution to world peace and development.

Mattarella spoke highly of the important contributions made by the Italian-Chinese cultural cooperation mechanism and the University Presidents Dialogue to promoting mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation between the two peoples, saying that both Italy and China are ancient civilizations with splendid cultures.

The two peoples appreciate and respect each other, and the story of Marco Polo is a portrayal of mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations, said Mattarella.

The two sides should sum up experience, carry forward friendship, build more bridges for people-to-people exchanges, strengthen unity and oppose confrontation, so as to provide a solid foundation and support for the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Italy and China, he said.