Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has achieved significant progress in vocational education exchange and cooperation with ASEAN countries, thanks to the region's advantageous location, local officials announced during an Aug 31 press conference.

Currently, there are 12 higher vocational institutions in Guangxi that accept international students, offering a total of 57 majors. The number of enrolled international students exceeds 800.

Moreover, Guangxi's higher-level vocational institutions have established 11 schools in foreign countries, providing education in 28 majors and accommodating 690 students.

Guangxi-based enterprises in industries such as machinery manufacturing, textiles, construction engineering, cross-border business, and agriculture have set up 28 overseas training bases, training over 10,000 technical workers annually.

The region has also collaborated with enterprises to establish research institutions that focus on application technology for overseas projects. Examples of this include the joint establishment of engineering project research centers and agricultural experimental stations in Laos and Vietnam.

Additionally, Guangxi, together with industrial experts, has cooperated with ASEAN countries to develop series of localized standards.

So far, a total of 42 professional standards, 207 curriculum standards, 21 job standards, and 99 technical standards have been formulated and utilized in ASEAN countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Laos. Furthermore, 66 internationalized textbooks have been jointly developed and shared with vocational colleges in ASEAN countries.

In May of this year, Guangxi outlined four main goals and 14 key tasks that will drive the high-quality development of vocational education. It aims to establish 10 Sino-ASEAN Modern Craftsman Colleges and 10 Sino-ASEAN Technological Innovation Colleges, while also exploring an internationalized system for cultivating technical talent.