The 2026 China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week will hold its main session in Guiyang from July 28 to Aug 2, featuring 35 key events. Throughout the year, 60 regular programs are scheduled, including six themed events in ASEAN countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Approximately 450 guests and delegates are expected to attend the opening session, including around 120 international participants. Attendees will include education officials and diplomats from ASEAN countries, representatives of international organizations, Chinese and ASEAN university presidents, experts and scholars, business representatives, and young students.
The year marks the first year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) and the 5th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership.
Under the theme of "Leveraging Smart Education, Building an Amicable Homeland", this year's cooperation week continues the model of "intensive events during the opening session + year-round regular programs". Major events include the opening ceremony and parallel thematic programs covering higher education, vocational education, digital education, international industry-university-research-application collaboration, and youth exchanges. This year's cooperation week also places a strong emphasis on five priority areas.
Digital education cooperation takes center stage, with joint efforts to build a digital resource-sharing platform and launch over 350 multilingual cross-border courses at the ASEAN-China Smart Education Institute in Colorful Guizhou.
Teacher training programs will be expanded with a vocational education digital capacity building center to be built in Thailand, which will provide regular AI teaching capacity training for ASEAN educators. A large AI model for ethnic medicine will also be released, and a joint digital education cooperation initiative will be launched.
Vocational education is another major focus, with the "Going Global" initiative for vocational education being actively advanced, the Guijiang Workshop certification standards rolled out, and vocational standards in e-commerce and new energy vehicle technology to be applied overseas.
The "International Mutual Recognition Framework for Vocational Education Learning Outcomes" will be released, and efforts will be made to export vocational education textbooks and curricula. The "Chinese + Vocational Skills" talent cultivation model will be promoted to nurture localized technical talent for RCEP industrial chains.
Research and industrial cooperation will be strengthened. In response to the development needs of Guizhou and ASEAN countries, several scientific research cooperation platforms and industry-education integration platforms will be established, including joint innovation labs for AI and collaborative innovation alliances for green mining.
Universities from eastern and western China will join ASEAN counterparts in collaborative research on ethnic medicine, green mining, and mountain agriculture, driving digital transformation across industries.
Exchanges will see a significant boost, with the launch of cultural exchange programs, including the Gen Z "Cultural Resonance" Project, the China-ASEAN Youth Community Forum, and "Bridge to See Guizhou" study tours.
The number of international students in Guizhou will continue to grow, with plans to invite over 5,000 young people from abroad to Guizhou for exchanges and study programs throughout the year.
"Education+" integrated development will be expanded, leveraging education's role as a driver to promote integration with culture, tourism, science, and technology. The China-ASEAN Education Equipment Exhibition will be held, bringing together over 80 companies and multiple universities for supply-demand networking and industry exchanges.
The China Guiyang-Gui'an International Talent Entrepreneurship Park will also be established to support innovative business models for the global expansion of Guizhou's local products. An industry investment promotion conference will be convened, inviting trade representatives from ASEAN countries to discuss cooperation and support high-quality economic and social development on both sides.