On the afternoon of 18 November 2021, the opening ceremony of the 2021 ASEAN-China TVET Workshop on Capacity Building co-organised by the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) and the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) was successfully held. Mr. Chen Dehai, Secretary-General of ACC, Mr. Tao Hongjian, Director-General-Level Inspector of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges of the Ministry of Education of China, Mr. Wang Yongli, Secretary-General of CEAIE, Ms. Pasupha Chinvarasopak, Minister Counsellor of Education and Science of the Embassy of Thailand in China, Mr. Yaya Sutarya, Education and Culture Attaché of the Embassy of Indonesia in China, and Dr. Wang Hui, President of Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology (SZIIT), attended and addressed the opening ceremony online.

Mr. Chen Dehai stated that the year 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations. Over the past 30 years, the two sides have worked hand in hand and supported each other to push forward economic growth and social progress, promote prosperity and stability in East Asia, and bring tangible benefits to the two billion people of the two sides. China has the world’s largest online retail market, while ASEAN is currently China’s ninth largest cross-border e-commerce trading partner. Therefore, cooperation between the two sides enjoys a sound foundation and broad prospects. This workshop aims to establish a platform for vocational schools and relevant enterprises of ASEAN Member States (AMS) and China to share experience on hot issues such as the integration of e-commerce industry and education and cross-border e-commerce cooperation. As the only inter-governmental organisation co-founded by the 10 AMS and China, ACC is ready to join hands with relevant parties, continuously strengthen exchanges and collaboration in the field of vocational education between the two sides and make unremitting efforts to promote economic and social development and closer people-to-people ties.

Mr. Tao Hongjian indicated that vocational education provides solid talent and technology support for promoting international industrial capacity cooperation and regional economic and social development, and it plays an increasingly important role in the development of the Belt and Road Initiative. He spoke highly of the great contribution of the “ASEAN-China 100+100 Institutional Cooperation Flagship Programme” in building an ASEAN-China vocational education community. He expressed hope that relevant parties would jointly build a long-term mechanism for vocational education exchanges and cooperation in the post-pandemic era.

Mr. Wang Yongli pointed out that China and AMS have actively shared experience and practices in alleviating poverty, boosting employment and promoting industrial transformation and upgrading through vocational education, so as to jointly explore new horizons of vocational education cooperation. Cross-border e-commerce has become a new driving force for the trade development between China and ASEAN. Focusing on e-commerce technology and its applications, the workshop  will contribute to the flourishing ASEAN-China e-commerce cooperation.

Ms. Pasupha Chinvarasopak believed that as the digital transformation of the world economy is accelerating, the revolution of big data, block chain, artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies has put forward new requirements for vocational education. She proposed three recommendations, namely improving innovation skills and “soft skills”, grasping the market trends of small-and-micro enterprises and start-ups, and intensifying exchanges and cooperation among schools, enterprises, governments and industries.

Mr. Yaya Sutarya hoped that educators participating in the workshop could actively study China’s strategy and experience in the field of vocational education, promote and share the skills in the field of e-commerce, and apply what they have mastered through mutual learning to the development of vocational education in their own countries, so as to further promote the exchanges and cooperation in vocational education between ASEAN and China.

Dr. Wang Hui extended sincere gratitude to ACC and CEAIE for the trust and support for SZIIT in organising this training. SZIIT is willing to work with relevant AMS institutions to promote the development of vocational education in Asia, continuously strengthen multilateral exchanges and cooperation, enhance synergy of respecive strengths and achieve win-win cooperation.

This two-day training focuses on e-commerce technology and its applications commonly interested by all AMS. Experts and scholars in this field will share China’s experience in cross-border e-commerce operation, live-streaming e-commerce, online sales and entrepreneurship and innovation through multiple forms, including lectures, case sharing and workshops. Moreover, the trainers will discuss with AMS participants on issues such as the integration of enterprises with vocational schools and universities in e-commerce, cross-border e-commerce cooperation, and approaches to entrepreneurship and innovation.