On 28 July 2017, during the 10th China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week in Guiyang, Guizhou province, H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), exchanged views with Mr. Wang Chengbin, Deputy Director-General of Education Department of Jiangsu province, on ASEAN-Jiangsu education exchanges and cooperation. Mr. Zheng Xing, Vice Inspector of Division for International Cooperation and Exchange of Education Department of Jiangsu, Mr. He Xingchu, Director of Jiangsu Education Service for International Exchange (JESIE), and Mr. Zhang Xuehai, Deputy Director of Information and Public Relations Division of ACC, attended the meeting.

Deputy Director-General Wang briefed on the international education cooperation of Jiangsu particularly with ASEAN countries. He stated that Jiangsu is rich in educational resources and possesses top level vocational education, which has produced abundant skilled personnel for Jiangsu’s socio-economic development. For now, Jiangsu has 90 vocational education institutions with 677,000 enrolled students, 416 types of vocational disciplines, and 3,059 institutes that cover the disciplines, the structure and pattern of which are in line with Jiangsu’s industrial layout. According to China’s Higher Vocational Education Quality Annual Report 2017, 14 out of top 50 internationally influential vocational education institutions are located in Jiangsu, accounting for 28% of the total number.

Deputy Director-General Wang stated that in recent years, Jiangsu’s vocational education cooperation with ASEAN countries has been deepening in all aspects. Jiangsu respectively organized Jiangsu-ASEAN Vocational Institutions Presidents’ Summit, presidents of 50 ASEAN high schools and 100 high school students to visit Jiangsu, Jiangsu-ASEAN High School Presidents’ Dialogue, ASEAN Youth Envoy Visiting Jiangsu and so on. In 2016, Jiangsu Education Department held China-ASEAN Vocational Education Dialogue, which initiated the establishment of ASEAN-China Consortium for TVET Cooperation. The initiative gained recognition by various parties. Meanwhile, Jiangsu enhanced the awarding of scholarships to ASEAN outstanding students and channeled RMB 3 million to set up Jiangsu Jasmine Scholarship for ASEAN students. In 2016, there were over 5,600 students coming to study in Jiangsu from ten ASEAN countries, and the number is estimated to exceed 6,000 in this year. In addition, Jiangsu’s vocational education institutions play an active role to go to ASEAN. Wuxi Vocational Institute of Commerce and Hodo Group jointly set up a training base at Sihanoukville Port Special Economic Zone, Cambodia, which has already cultivated over 20,000 persons so far. Jiangsu would continue to actively push forward cooperation in mutually dispatching students between ASEAN and Jiangsu, vocational education, joint education programmes, and so on. Jiangsu hoped to have continued support and assistance from ACC.

Secretary-General Yang spoke highly of the fruitful achievements of Jiangsu-ASEAN education exchanges and cooperation and outstanding contributions Jiangsu made for promoting ASEAN-China people-to-people exchanges. She stated that this year marks the 50th anniversary of ASEAN and the ASEAN-China Year of Tourism Cooperation. Both sides enjoy new opportunities of furthering exchanges and cooperation in education and tourism. Jiangsu has solid foundations and outstanding strengths of education cooperation with ASEAN. ACC would strengthen contacts with Jiangsu Education Department, and continue to serve as a bridge and bond for Jiangsu’s expanding education cooperation with ASEAN countries.

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