On 8 December 2022, the opening ceremony of the 2022 International Chinese Language Education Conference and Expo, sponsored by the Ministry of Education of China, organised by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC) and the International Society for Chinese Language Teaching (ISCLT), was successfully held at the National Convention Center in Beijing, themed with “Building New Landscape, Pursuing Higher Quality”. Nearly 1,800 delegates representing educational ministries, international organisations, foreign and Chinese universities and enterprises and experts and scholars joined the event either on the scene or through online channels. Dr. Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Education of China, chaired the ceremony and delivered opening remarks. Ms. Sun Chunlan, Vice Premier of the State Council of China attended and addressed a keynote speech to the audience. Representatives from around the world, including Mr. Eduardo Frei, Former President of Chile, Prof. Ahmad Belhoul A1 Falasi, Minister of Education of United Arab Emirates, Mr. Qu Xing, Deputy Director General of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Prof. Robbyn Wacker, President of St. Cloud State University of the U.S., H.E. Mr. Robinson Jean Louis, Ambassador of Madagascar to China, Prof Gong Qihuang, President of Peking University of China, Prof. William N. Brown, Professor of Xiamen University of China and Daniel Rakewitsch, Prize Winner of “Chinese Bridge” Competition, Student of the Chinese Choir of Burggymnasium of Germany, also shared their views and stories during the ceremony, representing voices from different partners in the field of Chinese language education. H.E. Mr. Shi Zhongjun, Secretary-General of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), attended the opening ceremony and presented awards to the champions of the “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition.

On the afternoon of 9 December 2022, the “Chinese+TVET” Education Development Forum, a parallel forum of the 2022 International Chinese Language Education Conference was held. H.E. Mr. Shi Zhongjun, together with Mr. Ma Jianfei, Director General of CLEC, Mr. Thanu Vongjinda, Secretary General of Thailand Vocational Education Commission, Mr. Mirzozoda Navruz, Head of the Department of Higher Professional and Postgraduate Education of Ministry of Education and Science of Tajikistan, Mr. Chindavong Xaiyasin , Education and Culture Counsellor of the Embassy of Lao PDR in China, and other guests shared and exchanged their in-depth views focusing on areas such as “Improving “Chinese + TVET” Education to Better Serve and Jointly Build High Quality Development of the ‘Belt and Road’”, “Construction of “Chinese +TVET” Education Support System”, and “Promoting “Chinese+TVET” Education Overseas with the Cooperation of Vocational Institutions and Enterprises”.

H.E. Mr. Shi Zhongjun pointed out that vocational education has become a hot topic of general interest in many countries in the world, playing an important role in eradicating poverty, increasing employment, improving workers’ skills, upgrading service industries, and maintaining the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain. ACC is willing to work with all parties involved to promote the in-depth and long-term mechanism for vocational education information-sharing and cooperation in the “post-epidemic” era and improve the core competitiveness of vocational colleges in ASEAN Member States, making greater contributions to economic and social development and people-to-people exchanges.