Gao Anming (left), deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily, and Xu Ningsheng, president of Fudan University, exchange souvenirs before the signing ceremony. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/chinadaily.com.cn]

China Daily signed a memorandum of understanding with Fudan University on December 9, marking the paper's first strategic cooperative agreement with a Shanghai university.

The two sides will join hands in reporting the latest scientific and research results of Chinese universities to help raise their international standing, among other projects.

China's leading English-language daily is building a global reporting and communication network and promoting the fusion of traditional and new media to better tell China's story, said Gao Anming, its deputy editor-in-chief.

Fudan hopes the newspaper with a global circulation of almost 1 million can help create more opportunities for the university, known for its leading MBA programs, to showcase its latest research and academic development, said university President Xu Ningsheng.

Founded in 1905, Fudan University is one of the nation's most prestigious universities. The school's name was chosen from among the following lines of a classic text: "Brilliant are the sunshine and moonlight, again the morning glory after the night". Fudan here would correspond to "again (fu) the morning glory (dan i.e. daybreak)".

The school will celebrate its 110th anniversary in 2015 by continuing its tradition of excellence and innovation as it is building itself into a world-class university, Xu said.

China Daily was founded in 1981. The China Daily Group has 16 publications globally.