Educational cooperation and exchange is the cornerstone of a comprehensive strategic partnership and an important aspect of cultural exchange between China and Germany. Since the first inter-governmental consultations in 2011, the MOE and German Federal Ministry of Education and Research have conducted wide-ranging and frequent consultations, yielding fruitful results.
During the 5th Sino-German inter-governmental consultation co-hosted by Chinese Premier LI Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on July 8-10, 2018, Minister of Education CHEN Baosheng and the Federal Minister of Education and Research of Germany Anja Karliczek reported on the major achievements obtained in educational cooperation over the past two years and plans for future cooperation between the two countries. They also signed the Joint Letter of Intention on Further Cooperation in Higher Education and Vocational Education, a milestone marking closer educational cooperation between the two sides.
The next stage in relations, according to the LoI, will involve educational authorities of both countries engaging in regular policy dialogues and supporting joint activities such as joint scientific research and joint establishment of labs by universities in both countries, e.g. Beijing University and the Free University of Berlin. They will also cooperate in implementing a vocational teacher training project, under which China will send principals and teachers of vocational schools to Germany to receive training on how to promote the cooperation between vocational schools and enterprises.
During the 5th inter-governmental consultation, Minister Chen also held talks with Mr. Udo Michallik, Secretary-General of the Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Lander in Germany on deepening the Sino-German cooperation on vocational education, and signed a Joint Letter of Intention on Facilitating Educational Cooperation. The two sides agreed that they would amend the Agreement on the Mutual Recognition of Higher Education Degrees, jointly improve their respective vocational curricula, and continue to encourage student exchanges.
Meanwhile, Minister Chen also had a meeting with a senior vice president of Adidas and signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Promoting China’s School Sports and Sino-German Youth Friendly Exchanges and Cooperation. Both sides agreed to cooperate in school sports, including staging national sports events, organizing teacher and coach training and promoting poverty relief through physical education. They will also facilitate youth exchanges in the field of sports in a way to maintain long-term friendship between both countries.
