One decade on from the very first China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week， the annual event is more robust than ever

By Zhang Chunxia， Huang Zedong

On July 28， 2017， the 10th China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week opened amid fascinating performances of Philippine dances and Chinese Dong folk songs. More than 2，000 distinguished representatives from China， ASEAN member states， as well as the event’s two special partner countries， Switzerland and Russia， gathered in the southwestern Chinese province of Guizhou to exchange views on education cooperation and development.

Under the theme “Share a Decade of Achievements in Educational Cooperation， Start a New Chapter along with the Belt and Road Initiative”， the event included more than 50 seminars， forums， competitions， exhibitions， summer camps， talks and training classes. Apart from the opening events held in Guizhou， relevant sideline events were held in Beijing， Malaysia， Indonesia and Cambodia， among other places.

Since the first China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week was held in 2008， the event has become a significant platform for cultural exchange between China and ASEAN after a decade of development.

Decade of Development

“Ten years is a long time，” remarked Khin Mama Tin， a teacher from Myanmar’s Yadanabon University， after watching the short video Our Ten Years at the opening ceremony. “We’ve always communicated and worked with each other over the past decade， which is conducive for us to better understand and cooperate with each other. Deeper cooperation will benefit everyone involved. I hope China-ASEAN education cooperation can go deeper and become even more extensive.”

Since 2008， China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week has been held annually in Guizhou， a region with a pleasantly cool climate， and the number of its participants increased from 400 in 2008 to 2，000 this year. Over the past 10 years， the event has attracted a total of 11，834 attendees and 2，717 schools and other educational institutions， leading to the signing of a total of 1，088 education cooperation agreements or memorandums. Also， it has involved more than 170 events in various forms， including the Education Ministers’ Roundtable and University Presidents’ Meeting， academic seminars， education expos， specialized workshops， youth cultural festivals and summer camps for students， providing an all-encompassing platform for educational and cultural exchanges between China and ASEAN.

Over the past decade， the event has also witnessed many changes： it has developed from a platform specializing in educational exchange led by China to an intergovernmental platform for cultural exchange extensively joined by ASEAN member states， and from a cooperative project under the China-ASEAN “10+1” mechanism to a global platform rooted in ASEAN. The number of events organized at each year’s Education Cooperation Week has expanded from four to around 50， and their scope has expanded from higher education to vocational education， fundamental education and lifelong education. Additionally， China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week has shifted from a weeklong event held only in Guizhou to one with various events held throughout the year in many places in China and ASEAN member states.

Propelled by all parties involved， the event has constantly improved in terms of scale， level and international influence while achieving increasingly impressive results. Liu Yandong， a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee and vice premier of China’s State Council， said at the opening ceremony of the 2017 China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week that with a history of 10 years， the event has become a high-end platform for education cooperation and cultural exchange and a solid bridge for the two sides to learn from each other and achieve win-win cooperation.

When addressing the opening ceremony， Lao Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone remarked that over the past decade， China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week has been committed to promoting cultural exchange between China and ASEAN countries， which conforms with the aim to push forward the framework agreement on the Belt and Road Initiative and connectivity within ASEAN.

Opportunities Brought by Belt and Road

“The Belt and Road Initiative provides a good opportunity for the development of our university by connecting us to other ASEAN schools and Chinese colleges and universities，” explained Eko Sri Margianti， rector of Indonesia’s Gunadarma University. “Schools in different countries can pool their resources to complement each other through the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week. Thanks to the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative， our university receives more students and teachers from China， and enjoys more opportunities to cooperate with Chinese universities.”

This year marked the second time Margianti attended the education week event in Guizhou. This time， one of her tasks was to hold talks with representatives from other schools and introduce a group of Chinese teachers to her university. “Besides employing Chinese teachers， we also want to publicize our university during the event， so that more Chinese teachers and students can become acquainted with Gunadarma University，” she said.

ASEAN is an important region along the Belt and Road. China defines the Education Cooperation Week as a major platform for cultural exchange with ASEAN， and declared it one of the important platforms for people-to-people communication under the Belt and Road Initiative on May 11， 2017. Thus， this year’s Education Cooperation Week highlighted the theme of the Belt and Road Initiative and aimed to benefit colleges， universities， vocational schools， overseas Chinese companies and nongovernmental organizations through events such as establishing and organizing the Belt and Road School-Enterprise Alliance for Talent Cultivation and the Belt and Road University Enterprise Dialogue， as well as holding the Forum on the Development of ASEAN ICT Industry-Education Integration along with the Belt and Road Initiative. In this way， the event has served as a major platform for China-ASEAN cultural exchange and an important channel for people-to-people connectivity among countries along the Belt and Road.

At the China-ASEAN University Presidents Forum for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education on the sideline of this year’s event， more than 150 education experts and scholars from 14 countries and regions shared views on achievements in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship education， and discussed issues on promoting development and cooperation in this regard. One of the biggest outcomes at the forum was the establishment of the China-ASEAN Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Alliance. Margianti’s Gunadarma University is one of the founding members of the alliance. She said she hopes the alliance will help her university deepen cooperation with its Chinese counterparts in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship education， fuel and foster students’ creativity， entrepreneurship and innovating capacity， and jointly explore new educational modes and methods to cultivate creative and entrepreneurial talent within Indonesia.

Golden Decade Ahead

A Malaysian student known by her Chinese name Huang Ziwei said she was lucky to be admitted to Xiamen University Malaysia Campus， because she “doesn’t have to leave home to attend one of the best Chinese universities.” Known for being the first overseas branch established by a Chinese university， Xiamen University Malaysia Campus now has more than 1，900 students， and the figure will increase to 3，000 when the new semester starts in September. As planned， the school’s total enrollment will reach 5，000 by 2020， with an eventual goal of 10，000 students — just one of many examples of Chinese universities going abroad to cultivate talent for the construction of the Belt and Road.

Since 2010， China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week has been dedicated to promoting two-way student exchange. From 2010 to 2016， the number of students from ASEAN member states studying in China increased from 50，000 to 80，000， and those from China studying in ASEAN countries increased from 20，000 to 120，000. Currently， the two sides are drafting a plan to increase the number of students for two-way exchange to 300，000 by 2025.

There is a Chinese saying that goes， “It takes 10 years for trees to grow， but 100 years to properly cultivate people.” After 10 years of development， the China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week has become as strong as a lush and robust tree. Along with the launch of the permanent site of the China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week and the release of the China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Action Plan （2017-2020）， the event is entering the next phase of its development.

At the 19th ASEAN-China Summit to Commemorate the 25th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations， held in September 2016， Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced the establishment of the China-ASEAN Maritime Silk Road Scholarship， which would provide 1，000 scholarships for students from ASEAN member states in 2017. At this year’s China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week， Vice Premier Liu Yandong announced more good news for ASEAN students： The Chinese government will provide at least 20，000 scholarships for them to study in China in the next three years. The news was met with applause by attendees.

“This year marks an important milestone in ASEAN-China cooperation，” Siphandone said. “Laos hopes to strengthen friendly， mutually-beneficial partnership with China under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative， promote education cooperation from the new starting point， and accelerate regional sustainable development.”

Liu， meanwhile， stressed that standing at a new starting point， the two sides should focus on building a strategic partnership that leads to peace and prosperity， broaden cooperation channels in various fields and foster public support for friendly cooperation. She also pointed out that China and ASEAN should align their respective development strategies under the Belt and Road Initiative， consolidate their education exchange platforms， strengthen talent cultivation， deepen think tank cooperation and carry out joint research， so as to make new contributions to building a closer community of shared future and start another “golden decade” of education cooperation.