Education exchanges considered crucial for building intl consensus

China is committed to enhancing the opening-up of high-level education and to strengthening educational exchanges and cooperation with countries around the world, the country's Minister of Education said.

Addressing the China Annual Conference for International Education and Expo in Beijing on Friday, Huai Jinpeng said the government will continue to support students wishing to go abroad to study while improving the quality of international education in China. It will also accelerate plans to turn the country into an important hub for talent and innovation.

Through deepened multilateral relationships, China will actively participate in global education governance and offer related suggestions, wisdom and experience to the world, he said.

The key to building a community with a shared future for mankind lies in interpersonal exchanges, and it is only through mutual understanding that people from different countries will overcome misunderstandings and build trust, he said.

Countries should strengthen cross-cultural communication and understanding and create more platforms and opportunities for teachers and students to learn from each other, broaden their horizons and build consensus, Huai said.

He added that it is important to actively promote education reform and foster skilled individuals, industry and innovation to enable education to play a bigger role in socioeconomic development.

Countries should cooperate to tackle common difficulties, enhance policy coordination and resource sharing, and accelerate the building of an equal, open and inclusive global education system, he said.

Speaking via video link to a session held as part of the CACIE 2021 program－hosted by the China Education Association for International Exchange in Beijing between Thursday and Sunday－Susan Acland-Hood, permanent secretary at the United Kingdom's Department of Education, said that the UK-China bilateral relationship has grown stronger in terms of educational, linguistic and cultural exchanges, and a passion for learning among both students and teachers.

During the session, which is entitled "New Opportunities and Prospects for Building an Open and High-Quality Education System", Acland-Hood added that following the UK's separation from the European Union, some may have wondered if the country was becoming more closed, but in fact, the split has given it the opportunity to become more open to exploring mutually beneficial opportunities for greater engagement with people around the world.

Approximately 90 percent of global economic growth over the next five years will come from beyond the EU, and the ability to connect with others, particularly through international education, is powerful, she said, adding that there are many global challenges like climate change that cannot be solved without international collaboration and being prepared to learn from one another.

"We learn when we are open to each other, when we are receptive to new ideas and when we are ready to debate and discuss with people that we don't necessarily recognize initially or agree with."

Pointing to the long-standing relationship between the UK and China on transnational education, she said that such partnerships are important because they help forge international relationships to expedite the exchange of knowledge and support institutional development.

On the heels of the talks, the China Education Expo, another signature CACIE event, is being held in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Guangdong province, between Oct 23 and 30, with the participation of over 300 international education institutions from more than 20 countries and regions.