On the evening of 28 July 2022, the Signing Ceremony of Memorandum of Cooperation on China (Shandong)-ASEAN Industry-College-Research Base (hereinafter the Base) for Vocational Education was successfully held. Mr. Chen Dehai, Secretary-General of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), Mr. Cai Xianjin, Director-General of the Foreign Affairs Office of Shandong Provincial Government (Shandong FAO) and President of Shandong People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (SDPAFFC), and Mr. Li Ming, Director-General of Shandong Provincial Department of Education, signed the Memorandum. In the Memorandum, the three sides agree to jointly establish the Base, which aims to build a platform to promote exchanges and collaboration, enhance cooperation in fields of talent cultivation, integration of production and education and transformation of research achievements between ASEAN countries and China. They will share accomplishments of vocational education, and deepen exchanges and mutual learning.

The three sides awarded plaques for the first batch of 10 member units of the Base after the signing ceremony, and released the 2022 Vocational Skills Training Programs of China (Shandong)-ASEAN Industry-College-Research Base for Vocational Education.

On the morning of 29 July, the China (Shandong)-ASEAN Vocational Education Industry-College-Research Seminar was successfully held. Under the framework of the China-ASEAN Mayor’s Forum & Conference for Collaborative Innovation and Development, the Seminar was co-hosted by ACC, Shandong FAO, Shandong Provincial Department of Education and the Secretariat of the Base. Mr. Sam Sorphorn, Consul General of Cambodia in Ji’nan, Ms. Li Rong, Deputy Director-General of Shandong FAO and Executive Vice President of SDPAFFC, Ms. Sun Xiaoyun, Deputy Director-General of Shandong Provincial Department of Education, and Ms. Shao Hongshuang, Vice Mayor of Dezhou City, attended and addressed the event.

Mr. Chindavong Xaiyasin, Education and Culture Counsellor of the Embassy of Lao PDR in China, Mr. Hoang Mai Dien, Head of Education Section of the Embassy of Viet Nam in China, and Mr. Ty Lico, Second Secretary of the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in China, shared opinions on collaborative demands of and suggestions on cooperation of vocational education with Shandong respectively, and had in-depth exchange of views on the driving force of industry-college-research collaboration for the cultivation of high-skilled personnel.