NANJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- A new Belarus research center has been established at the Nanjing University of Science and Technology in east China's Jiangsu Province.

The research center, which was unveiled Tuesday, will pool research talent and resources from China and Belarus to develop into a high-end policy think tank, focusing on science and technology studies, and culture and communication.

Sergei Khakhomov, rector of Francisk Skorina Gomel State University of Belarus, said the center is of great importance to continue the close ties between Belarus and China and it is a big step based on results of previous cooperation between the two universities.

Jiangsu Province and Gomel Region of Belarus forged friendly ties in 2016, yet cooperation between the two universities began much earlier. In addition to the newly established research center, the two universities jointly set up an international laboratory and a Confucius Institute since they signed an agreement of comprehensive cooperation in 2005, according to Fu Mengyin, president of Nanjing University of Science and Technology.

Education is the basis for bilateral relations and mutual trust between the two countries, said Valeriy M. Matsel, consul general of Belarus in Shanghai, who hoped the new research center would become a window to help students in Nanjing learn about the history and literature of Belarus.