Harvard played host to an international education summit over the weekend, setting up a two-day colloquium between seven presidents from China's leading universities and five from U.S. universities.

In the event, characterized by President Neil L. Rudenstine as "intense in a good sense," the academic leaders discussed fundraising, academic planning, admissions and computer technology in education.

Meeting in the Fogg Art Museum, officials from both sides gave presentations on their universities. In addition to the Harvard administrators, leaders from the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Virginia, Duke and M.I.T. took part in the chance to meet with their Chinese counterparts.

"China's universities are going to be among the most important in the world in the next century," said China expert and Ford Professor of the Social Sciences Ezra F. Vogel, who participated in the conference. "It was an extraordinarily successful meeting."

Vogel described the meeting as a significant step in improving Sino-American relations, rather than a harbinger of progress for intellectual freedom in China, since the Chinese have far more academic autonomy than Americans realize.

Also, meetings like the one held at Harvard will help American universities welcome the current flood of students from China, Vogel said.

"They seemed interested in every subject discussed," said Provost Harvey V. Fineberg '67, who gave a presentation on information technology. "They were especially gratified to get a first-hand account of how a number of U.S. presidents cope with a set of challenges similar to the ones that they are facing."

Meanwhile, American admissions, financial aid and fundraising policies may give the Chinese leaders new ideas about how best to administer their universities.