The 8th China-CEEC (Central and Eastern European Countries) Education Policy Dialogue was held in virtual format in Beijing on October 29, with a view to follow up on the outcomes of the China-CEEC Summit. Vice Minister of Education Tian Xuejun attended the event and delivered a speech.

Tian said that since the 7th China-CEEC Education Policy Dialogue held in 2019, education in China and in CEE countries had achieved remarkable results through cooperation, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. China pledged to pursue its engagement with CEE countries to further enhance outcomes, and promote and consolidate cooperation in education.

During the Dialogue, themed “Opportunities, Challenges and Sustainable Development for China-CEEC Educational Cooperation in the Post-Epidemic Era”, Tian made five proposals: (1) sharing and making good use of online courses available, while learning from each other and exchanging on the blending of online and offline education; (2) accelerating mutual recognition of education, qualification and academic degrees, to expand and improve two-way student exchange programs; (3) strengthening capacity building of the China-CEEC HEI Consortium, with a focus on joint talent training; (4) founding a China-CEEC Industry-Education Alliance as a platform for information exchange and partnership between vocational education institutions and the industry; and (5) establishing a focal point system for educational cooperation between China and CEE countries, to ensure effective implementation of the Dialogue outcomes.

Education (Vice) Ministers and high-level representatives of 14 countries, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia, participated virtually in the Dialogue. All participants spoke highly of the significant progress made by China and CEE countries in areas of student mobility, language cooperation and talent cultivation and expressed a strong willingness to continue collaboration.