An institute on Malaysian studies affiliated with prestigious Xiamen University, the first of its kind on the Chinese mainland, was inaugurated Saturday in Xiamen, an open city in east China's Fujian Province.

The institute, which was actually unveiled on April 6 this year, is mainly to do researches on Malaysian economy, politics, culture, languages, religions, history, and Sino-Malaysian relations, and also to conduct academic activities in association with Malaysian studies.

While addressing the inaugural ceremony of the institute on Saturday, President Zhu Chongshi of Xiamen University, promised that they would develop and offer more branches of schooling and specialties to cater to foreign students, especially those from southeast Asia, in an effort to draw more foreign students to study at Xiamen University.

According to Zhu, more than 900 Malaysian students have been receiving schooling with Xiamen University via distance-learning programs and another 300 Malaysian students have studied on Xiamen University campus.

Currently, 30 Malaysian students are studying at the university for bachelor, master or doctor's degrees in specialities ranging from legal sciences, the Chinese language, to business management.