China and Uzbekistan are expanding vocational education cooperation, with new joint workshops introduced and industry-college partnerships forged to train skilled workers in sectors such as telecom, new energy vehicles and manufacturing.

Thirteen agreements were signed between Chinese colleges and enterprises and Uzbek institutions at the China-Uzbekistan Vocational Education Cooperation Conference, which was held over the weekend in Chongqing.

The agreements covered areas such as public health, NEVs, telecommunication, construction, machine manufacturing, forestry, energy and finance.

As part of the agreements, the Chongqing Vocational Institute of Engineering and Chinese tech giant ZTE will build a Sino-Uzbek telecommunication college in collaboration with Tashkent Transport Technical College in the capital of Uzbekistan. Also, China's Anhui Water Conservancy Technical College, the Uzbekistan plant of China's leading NEV manufacturer BYD and a local college will together establish a Sino-Uzbek NEV industry college.

On Saturday, the Uzbek delegation visited Chongqing Chemical Industry Vocational College in Changshou district, which has established friendly relations with some cities in the Central Asian country.

'Strategic pillar'

Speaking at the conference, Xi Ru, an official from the Chinese Education Ministry's Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges, said, "With the accelerated evolution of global industrial transformation, vocational education has shifted from traditional talent cultivation to a strategic pillar of national modernization."

"Chongqing boasts booming industrial clusters, including intelligent connected new energy vehicles and high-end equipment manufacturing, and Uzbekistan is in need of industrial upgrading. The two sides can play to each other's strengths," she added.

Otabek Makhkamov, Uzbekistan's deputy minister of higher education, science and innovation, said his country is pushing forward a large-scale reform in its vocational education system. It has built more than 600 schools, introduced international education programs, strengthened integration with industry, and is carrying out international vocational qualification certification.

"We think highly of China's achievements in building a flexible and high-tech vocational education model, especially through cooperation with big companies such as BYD, Huawei and ZTE," he said at the conference.

In September, under the guidance of the Chongqing Municipal Education Commission, the Chongqing Vocational Institute of Engineering and 124 other Chinese and Uzbek institutions jointly launched the China-Uzbekistan Vocational Education Alliance.

Focusing on joint training of technical talent, the alliance launched the Sino-Uzbek workshop project to involve major Chinese global companies.

China is looking to its partners around the world to deepen cooperation in vocational training and create a regional development community for vocational training and economic integration, especially in countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, experts said.

Yi Jun, Party secretary of the Chongqing Vocational Institute of Engineering, said the Sino-Uzbek education alliance has facilitated over 20 cooperation projects and promoted the construction and sharing of technical standards and resources, including 30 training courses for teachers and eight practical training projects.