ROME, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Rome's LUISS University and Renmin University of China on Friday signed a strategic partnership to promote exchange and cooperation between the Chinese market and Italy's entrepreneurial, professional and institutional communities.

One of the centerpieces of the five-year agreement is a double degree master's program in Global Management and Politics.

The new partnership was launched just days after Italy and China signed multiple bilateral cooperation documents during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Italy.

"The graduates of this new joint program are among the figures who will help guide the newly strengthened ties between the countries," Andrea Prencipe, LUISS University's rector and one of the partnership's authors, said in an exclusive interview. "This program is sure to have far reaching impacts."

Liu Wei, president of Renmin University of China, agreed, declaring in an emailed statement that the joint partnership "is not only an important event for the two universities to adapt to the development of the times and inject a strong impetus into the exchange of higher education between China and Italy, but also a concrete embodiment of promoting the culture of the two countries."

Liu went on: "We are willing to work with LUISS University to deepen exchanges in humanities and academic cooperation," adding we will "inject more epochal connotations and momentum into the development of Sino-Italian and even worldwide higher education in the new era, and start a new chapter for the lasting friendship between China and Italy."

LUISS has deep ties with China. The new partnership builds on a series of previous cooperation pacts that started in 2006 and has since involved more than 500 students -- around half of them Italian and half Chinese, Prencipe said -- in 11 different cities.

"Ties between Italy and China have received a great deal of attention in recent weeks, but this has been an area of emphasis for LUISS University for at least 13 years," Prencipe said. "Our efforts are not only designed to prepare future leaders but also to increase mutual understanding of each country's culture and to develop new ties between the countries."

LUISS University -- the institution's name is short for "Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali," or "Free International University of Social Studies"-- is a private university founded in 1974 focusing on business management, economics and finance, and political science.

Renmin University of China, established in 1937, is a comprehensive research university focusing on humanities, social sciences, science, and engineering.