The launch ceremony for an ASEAN talent development program took place at Nanjing Vocational University of Industry Technology on April 1. Many teachers from countries such as Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand, as well as delegates from 41 Chinese vocational colleges, attended the event.

Hu Zhiping, deputy director of the Center for Language Education and Cooperation of the Ministry of Education, said during the ceremony that as a number of major projects have been initiated in countries along the Belt and Road, learning Chinese and acquiring relevant professional skills are gaining popularity among local youth in these countries. The aim of the training is to enhance the Chinese proficiency of foreign vocational college teachers and increase employment opportunities for vocational school students.

From the 1,254 students participating in the training program online, 30 outstanding students will be selected for a two-week field investigation in China.

Zhou Jiuhua from the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education highlighted that Jiangsu has 15,700 schools of all types with over 16 million students. The province is home to 169 universities, ranking first in the country. Jiangsu also has a total of 202 Sino-foreign cooperative educational institutions and projects, including 24 at the undergraduate and higher level, also ranking first nationwide.