HOUSTON, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and U.S. universities have pledged here to promote academic and research cooperation between the two countries.

The pledge was made at an event celebrating the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up policy and the 120th anniversary of Peking University, co-hosted by alumni associations of Peking University and Tsinghua University in Houston on Sunday.

In a keynote speech at the 2018 Southern U.S. China Summit, Xu Zhihong, a former president of Peking University, called on the alumni associations to make more contributions to exchanges between China and the United States.

President of Rice University in Houston David Leebron said he believes that universities and students have a role in further enhancing the relationship between the United States and China.

"It is my belief that it calls upon us the great universities in the world to continue to forge this relationship, to use our capacities for progress and peace and understanding to build not just intellectual relationships, research relationships, but personal relationships between peoples," he said.

Texas State Representative Gene Wu called for deeper cooperation on academic and intellectual levels among peoples in Texas, in Houston and in China.

The summit also got together people from Houston's political, business and academic societies.