On 19 September 2019, Mr. Chen Dehai, Secretary-General of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) attended the China-ASEAN Vocational Education Summit Forum and delivered remarks in Nanning, Guangxi.

The Forum was co-hosted by the Ministry of Education of China and the People’s Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Mr. Chen Ziji, Director-General of the Department of Vocational and Adult Education, Ministry of Education of China, Mr. Huang Junhua, Vice Chairman of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Mr. M Kulasegaran V Murugeson, Minister of Human Resources of Malaysia, Mr. Im Koch, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of Cambodia and Mr. Kongsy Sengmany, Vice Minister of Education and Sports of Lao PDR attended this forum.

Secretary-General Chen Dehai stated in his remarks that the development of Modern TVET is not only an important step to improve the quality of human resources, to stabilize and expand employment, but also an important measure to promote high-quality economic development. At present, ASEAN countries and China are at a critical stage of economic development, and there is a pressing need for both sides to produce more high-calibre technical personnel.

Secretary-General Chen Dehai said that promoting TVET exchanges and cooperation between ASEAN and China is one of ACC’s flagship projects. In recent years, ACC has been devoted to fostering a long-term mechanism for ASEAN-China TVET exchanges and collaboration to encourage in-depth practical cooperation. China-ASEAN cooperation enjoys broad prospect. All relevant parties should fully leverage the China-ASEAN Vocational Education Exhibition and Forum as an important platform to enrich dialogue mechanisms, improve vocational education system, promote school-industry integration and facilitate standard unification, so that a new height will be reached for TVET collaboration.

The China-ASEAN Vocational Education Summit Forum is an important part of the 2019 China-ASEAN Vocational Education Exhibition and Forum. More than 1000 representatives from government departments, international organizations, TVET institutes and enterprises of ASEAN countries and China gathered to engage in discussions and exchanges on the theme of “Building a Vocational Education Community through Exchanges, Mutual Learning and Win-Win Cooperation”.