The first China-Central Asia Education Officials’ Meeting was held in Urumqi, the provincial seat of China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Dec. 27. Vice Minister of Education Wu Yan delivered a speech via video link. Vice Chairman of the Xinjiang Government Kaiser Abdukerim attended the meeting along with around 50 representatives from the education departments of five Central Asian countries, their embassies in China, relevant departments of the MOE, and higher education institutions in Xinjiang.

Wu noted that the inaugural China-Central Asia Summit held in May 2023 proposed the establishment of the China-Central Asia Education Ministers’ Meeting mechanism, charting the course for the development of a China-Central Asia Education Community. The MOE has been in charge of setting up this consultation mechanism. Wu said that over the past year, both sides have established various multilevel and bilateral educational cooperation platforms, achieving a series of remarkable outcomes. He added that China will continue to promote openness in education and engage in global educational governance, contributing to the advancement of global education. Facing shared opportunities and challenges in the education sector, China will work hand in hand with Central Asian countries—based on the principles of equality, mutual trust and benefit, and win-win cooperation—to strengthen the friendship between China and Central Asia through educational cooperation.