Shi Yigong, Westlake University's president, speaks in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, April 3, 2018. [Photo/IC]

Westlake University, China's youngest private research university, founded in February, will make world-class scientific achievements within the next five to 10 years, Shi Yigong, the school's president, said on May 26.

Shi was speaking at the opening of the 20th annual meeting of the China Association of Science and Technology in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, where the university is located.

"The university is a product of its time," said Shi, noting that the first section of the university in the city's Yunxi town began operations in 2017 and will house around 2,500 researchers.

Phase 1 will be completed by the end of 2021, Shi said, and will have 300 faculty members and around 5,000 students. It's focus will be to produce high-quality postgraduate talent.

"Small but elite, young but advanced - that's the spirit of the new university," Shi said. Westlake hopes to become the California Institute of Technology of China, he said.

The school plans to have only science, engineering and life sciences departments in its first 10 years. The high concentration of funding and quality teaching and research staff, together with flexible administration, will allow the school to innovate and produce world-class work within five to 10 years, Shi said.

"The school embodies the innovative spirit and reforms needed in China's higher education system," Shi said. "We hope to create a first-class university that can contribute to the development needs of the nation and the world."