SHANGHAI - The University of California, Berkeley on Friday signed a deal with Shanghai to establish a campus there, as China pushes to boost its higher-education credentials by inviting the world's top universities to set up offshore campuses.

According to the deal, Berkeley's Shanghai campus will be located in the Zhangjiang Hi-tech Area of the bustling Pudong district. The campus, initially built for the School of Engineering, will primarily conduct research on telecommunication, green technology and manufacturing, and bio-technology.

The campus will also cooperate with the Shanghai-based elite Chinese universities -- Shanghai Jiaotong University and Fudan University -- on curriculum teaching. Under the deal, Berkeley's law school and business school are also in talks for similar cooperation with Chinese universities.

China has been vigorously trying to raise the country's higher-education standards over the past few years. The Outline of China's National Plan for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development, issued last year, called for the internationalization of tertiary education.

In early March, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao urged the establishment of world-class universities when he delivered the government work report to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

Construction began in late March for the New York University Shanghai, the first university jointly operated by China and the United States. NYU Shanghai is an independent entity authorized to grant degrees. New York University and the Shanghai-based East China Normal University will operate the institution.