Cornell University and Beijing University signed an agreement to promote academic exchanges between the two universities on Tuesday.

Cornell is seeking comprehensive cooperation with China, an important step to building Cornell into an international university, said Cornell President Jeffrey Lehman.

Beijing University is the second partner Lehman has selected onhis trip to Beijing.

On Monday, Cornell University and Qinghua University established a strategic partnership, focusing on cooperation in engineering, nanotechnology, new materials, information and energy.

Cornell has approximately 20,000 students, with about 3,000 from overseas, 800 of whom are from China.