On 11 September 2017, H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) was invited to participate in the China-ASEAN Vocational Education Exhibition and Forum 2017 at Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and delivered remarks. Secretary-General Yang Xiuping cited that with the joint efforts of both sides, ASEAN-China educational cooperation has achieved fruitful outcomes. Effective cooperation platforms were established such as the China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week. The student mobility between ASEAN and China exceeded 200,000. China has established 30 ASEAN-China Education and Training Centres in China, 31 Confucius Institutes and 35 Confucius Classrooms in ASEAN countries. Chinese universities are running their campus in Lao PDR, Malaysia, and Thailand. China has set up ASEAN-China Maritime Silk Road Scholarships for ASEAN students to study in China.

At present, ASEAN countries and China are at a crucial stage of social and economic development. It serves the common interests of both sides to strengthen the training of skilled professionals. In order to make vocational education more beneficial to both sides, she put forward the four suggestions: First, to actively implement the important initiatives proposed by the leadership and turn the blueprints into reality as early as possible; Second, to fully leverage the existing cooperation networks and platforms and promote exchanges and sharing of education resources, thus to maximize the quality education resources; Third, to build a strong team of teachers for vocational education, and attract more qualified personnel to join this team through joint training and other ways; Fourth, to strengthen international cooperation so that various sides can draw on each other’s strengths and learn from each other, and to promote exchanges among overseas students and the younger generation so as to deepen mutual understanding and friendship.

Secretary-General Yang spoke highly of Guangxi’s effective work and fruitful outcomes in promoting ASEAN-China education cooperation. She mentioned that Guangxi, connected with ASEAN by land and sea, enjoys unique geographical advantage in ASEAN-China cooperation. In the area of education, four ASEAN-China education and training centres are located in Guangxi. Higher education institutions including Guangxi University and Guangxi University of Nationalities have opened courses covering all languages of ASEAN countries. In 2016, there were more than 9,000 ASEAN students in Guangxi. In 2017, the scholarships for ASEAN students provided by the People’s Government of Guangxi reached RMB 25 million. Guangxi has become one of the key destinations of overseas study for ASEAN students. The building of the Belt and Road has brought new opportunities for Guangxi to expand its cooperation with ASEAN. It is convinced that Guangxi will play an even bigger role in the practical cooperation between ASEAN and China in the future.

Secretary-General Yang briefed that as an inter-governmental organization co-founded by 10 ASEAN Member States and China, ACC has worked actively to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of both sides and promote practical cooperation in trade, investment, education, culture, tourism and media. During the past six years since its inception, ACC has accomplished more than 100 flagship projects and organized or participated in more than 500 activities, which have been widely acclaimed by people from all walks of life of both sides.

ACC places great emphasis on ASEAN-China vocational education cooperation and has hosted a series of activities. For example, ACC organized four delegations of Chinese TVET institutions to visit eight ASEAN countries and received three TVET delegations from ASEAN to visit four provinces of China. ACC facilitated the signing of MoUs between more than 450 TVET institutions of the two sides, and assisted hundreds of ASEAN students to study in China with the scholarships provided by the Chinese side. In addition, ACC helped its partner Yalong Company donate vocational education equipments and training courses to Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar which has produced good results.

Secretary-General Yang also visited the education exhibition, interacted with exhibitors, and appreciated their contribution to ASEAN-China vocational education exchanges.