On 21 August, the 2024 China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week (CAECW), themed with “Strengthening Educational Cooperation and People-to-people Exchanges for a Brighter Shared Future”, was opened in Guiyang, Guizhou Province of China. Vice Chairman Ding Zhongli of the Standing Committee of the 14th Chinese National Peoples’ Congress, Vice President Khambay Damlath of Lao National Assembly, Secretary Xu Lin of the Guizhou Provincial Committee of Communist Party of China, Governor Li Bingjun of Guizhou Province, Vice Minister He Guangcai of Chinese Ministry of Education, Deputy Minister Moe Zaw Tun of Education of Myanmar, Secretary of State Om Romny of Education, Youth and Sports of Cambodia and Director Habibah Abdul Rahim of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) attended the opening ceremony. Secretary General Shi Zhongjun of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) was invited to address the opening ceremony. 

Shi Zhongjun highly commended the successful opening of the 2024 CAECW. He recalled that, since the establishment of the China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, economic relations and trade between China and ASEAN countries have gained strong momentum, with vibrant cultural exchanges and fruitful educational cooperation. He emphasized that, in the face of both challenges and opportunities for regional economic recovery and sustainable development, the ACC will strengthen its role as a bridge, collaborating with all relevant stakeholders to advance practical cooperation in education, promote in-depth integration among industries, academia and research institutes, and actively support multi-level cultural exchanges, contributing to the building of an even closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

During the event, the ACC, SEAMEO and Guizhou Provincial Department of Education (GPDE) renewed the Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding. The three parties agreed to strengthen cooperation in further enriching the role of CAECW as a flagship platform for people-to-people exchanges, deepening cooperation between institutions and promoting exchanges of faculties and students, so as to reinforce partnership between China and Southeast Asian countries in education, science and culture.

On the same day, the ACC, SAEMEO and GPDE held the 10th tripartite meeting. Shi Zhongjun, Dr. Habibah and Mr. Zou Lianke, Secretary-General of CACEW Secretariat and Director General of Guizhou Department of Education, had an in-depth exchange of views on implementing the Memorandum of Understanding and formulation of the action plans in the future. Initial consensus has been reached in specific cooperation areas including mechanism building, co-sponsoring programs on CAECW platform, conducting youth exchanges and materializing internship programs.

During the 2024 CAECW, more than 70 events will be held, attracting over 5000 representatives from China, ASEAN and other countries along the Belt and Road regions.