Taiwan

Cross-Straites college exchanges help boost co-op

By Ma Zhenhuan (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-06-02 09:09

Zhejiang will invite 100 university students from Taiwan on a summer training program this year to beef up education cooperation across the Straits, Zhao Hongzhu, CPC Party Secretary of the province, said.

Exchanges between higher education institutions have grown since last year, with a total of 27 universities and colleges in Zhejiang signing exchange agreements with 57 institutions in Taiwan.

The province has also launched a Zhejiang-Taiwan Education Exchange Center to boost cooperation.

So far, Zhejiang has received more than 700 college students from Taiwan who came to visit the province and selected 200 Zhejiang college students for exchange and study missions to the island.

In July last year, the Zhejiang Higher Education Society organized the first batch of 30 vocational college teachers in the province to go on a short-term training program in Taiwan to examine the methods used in this sector.

The province will also launch a training center in the Taiwan University of Science and Technology to organize training for two batches of Zhejiang university teachers on an annual basis.

"Taiwan has accumulated valuable expertise in terms of vocational education, which will be of value to us," Zhao said.

"I hope our teachers will learn from the professional ideas and methods."

During the seven-day tour, in which the Zhejiang delegation visited areas in the northern, middle and southern parts of Taiwan, Zhejiang also hosted a Zhejiang Tourism Promotional Week, and a meeting on cooperation between tourism businesses. A total of eight tourism enterprises from across the Straits also signed agreements pledging to further enhance exchanges in the tourism sector.

It is expected that in 2011, a total of 220,000 tourists from Zhejiang will visit Taiwan, among which 100,000 will travel to middle and southern areas, such as Kaohsiung.

The delegation also achieved a breakthrough in the development of the marine industry, agriculture and procurement.

During the delegation's visit to Kaohsiung Port, Zhejiang's Ningbo Port Group and Zhoushan Port Administration signed an understanding with their Kaohsiung counterparts.

Zhejiang Pelagic Fisheries Group also signed procurement and investment deals to further enhance cooperation in maritime economic exchanges.

In the SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) sector, over 20 enterprises from Zhejiang hosted business talks with more than 100 enterprises in Taiwan, and Shaoxing has decided to purchase $537 million of chemical fiber products in Taiwan.

The visit also witnessed the link-up of 48 agricultural associations, farms and enterprises across the Straits to enhance cooperation in the agricultural sector.

So far, a total of seven Zhejiang enterprises have investment projects in Taiwan, with a combined investment volume of $20 million.