A seminar on promoting rural vitalization through vocational education in Guizhou and Mekong countries was held on Sept. 25 on the sideline of the 2021 China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week.

The seminar, jointly hosted by the Foreign Affairs Office of Guizhou Province and the Department of Education of Guizhou Province, aimed to promote exchanges and cooperation between Guizhou province and Mekong countries and explore new ideas for vocational education cooperation to promote rural vitalization in Mekong countries.

Zhang Hanlin, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Guizhou Province, said that since the launch of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC), Guizhou has contributed to the development of the cooperation mechanism with its experience in developing modern mountainous agriculture, vocational education, and poverty alleviation. The province has worked hard to advance the LMC by promoting local development and people-to-people bonds.

Zhang said that Guizhou will continue to use its own advantages to carry out extensive cooperation with Mekong countries, and hoped the province could leverage its advantages in the field of vocational education, especially in the field of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), to carry out in-depth cooperation in the promotion and application of traditional diagnosis and treatment technologies. Through this technology, it wishes to help countries fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, reduce poverty, and realize rural vitalization.

Lao Ambassador to China Khamphao Ernthavanh said that the seminar will help promote the development of vocational education in China and in ASEAN countries. She added that China's vocational education aid has provided many learning opportunities for students in remote mountainous areas in Laos. 

Former Chinese Ambassador to Maldives Wang Fukang said that as a new-type cooperation mechanism featuring extensive consultation between China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, the LMC has developed into a most dynamic sub-regional cooperation mechanism.

Amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic last year, the six countries vigorously carried out cooperation to fight the epidemic, strengthened cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and maintained the momentum of LMC growing from strength to strength, Wang said.

Wang added that Guizhou and the Mekong countries are geographically close to each other and culturally connected, thus having a good foundation for cooperation. He hoped that Guizhou will play an even bigger role in its cooperation with the Mekong countries and contribute more to building a higher level of China-ASEAN strategic partnership.

The Foreign Affairs Office of Guizhou Province and ASEAN-China Center signed a memorandum of cooperation at the seminar.