Ant Financial, China's leading financial technology firm, and Zhejiang University announced on July 4 that they will jointly launch a fintech research center to cultivate innovative talent in the field.

The two sides will collaborate to launch doctoral programs in fintech and digital finance and set up postdoctoral workstations in related fields.

Zhejiang University will also select its outstanding students each year to do internships at the fintech firm.

Jing Xiandong, chairman and CEO of Ant Financial, said he hoped the two sides could set an example for the cooperation between tech firms and research institutions.

Ant Financial, which runs the popular online payment network Alipay, has entered into strategic partnerships with a number of top-notch universities, including Tsinghua University, Tongji University and the University of California, Berkeley. Last June, the firm and Massachusetts Institute of Technology jointly established a fintech laboratory.