"Cooperation, Development and New Perspectives" was the theme of a forum to celebrate "30 Years of Chinese-German cooperation in vocational training" on November 29th and 30th in Beijing. Among the participants invited by the Ministry of Education (MoE) where representatives of departments and educational institutions from all over China and from Chinese and German ministries, but also representatives from organizations that have been actively engaged in vocational education in China like the Hanns Seidel Foundation, the GTZ and InWEnt as well as German enterprises. Approximately 450 people attended this event.

In her opening speech Dr. Lu Xin, Vice Minister of Education of the People's Republic of China, stated that the more than 100 projects undertaken with the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) over the past three decades make the cooperation "the longest, most effective and successful", making the HSF a pioneer in that field. She also stressed that reforms of the current system of vocational education will be of strategic importance for the further economic development of China and that the political leadership was paying a lot of attention to the topic. The aim was to build "a modern and innovative vocational education system with Chinese characteristics".

Dr. Hans Zehetmair, Chairman of the Hanns Seidel Foundation contributed a presentation about the multi-dimensionality of vocational education. He described it as an integral factor to stabilize the foundation of a society. High quality vocational training can create a broad set of carrier options and give room for personal development, while skilled and innovative employees are also an important asset for the national industry. Dr. Hao Ping, Vice Minister of Education, described the German-Chinese collaboration in that field as "an important element of the cooperation between the two countries."

The main focus during the first day of the conference was the role of vocational education in the modernization process of China, the relationship between vocational education and social development and the role that policies and companies can play in the improvement of vocational training. The participants agreed that strengthening the appeal and quality of vocational education will be an essential task. On the second day presentations and discussions focused on the cooperation between schools and the industry, education reform and a better position for teachers as well as the general framework for language training. According to Chinese education experts the high heterogeneity of quality within the vocational education sector was still the main challenge. Therefore it will be crucial to promote innovative measures in school management and to implement reliable monitoring and evaluation systems for schools.

In an accompanying exhibition the Chinese and German partners had the chance to introduce their projects and concepts to a wide audience of experts. The Hanns Seidel Foundation presented various projects in the field of vocational education and focused on teacher trainings as an effective way to better the overall quality of education. Also shown were projects where vocational training served as the starting point for a higher professional training in cooperation with academic institutions. Another important aspect was the transfer of knowledge and skills to underdeveloped regions in Western China by long existing cooperation projects in the East and South of China via partner schools and teacher trainings.