The 11th China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week opened in Gui'an New Area, Southwest China's Guizhou province, on July 26, heralding a new beginning for education cooperation and a new future for cultural exchange.

The four-day event was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the Guizhou Provincial People’s Government.

A big data platform for international cooperation between countries and regions trading in the ASEAN bloc and Belt and Road countries was launched at the opening ceremony. The China-ASEAN College of Humanities of Guizhou Minzu University and the Global E-Commerce Talent Network were also founded at the event.

According to Sun Zhigang, secretary of the Guizhou Provincial CPC Committee, the number of participants of the event has risen from 400 to over 4,000 since it started in 2008. It has developed into a national cultural exchange platform from a single regional education exchange tool.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's opening-up and reform policy and the 15th anniversary of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership. Tian Xuejun, deputy minister of education, said that China and ASEAN countries should constantly deepen cooperation to realize the target of exchanging 300,000 students in 2025.

The event is more than just a platform for educational cooperation and exchange. It has been an important platform for cultural communication since it began facilitating personnel exchanges and resource sharing between China and ASEAN countries in 2008.

Approximately 3,000 guests were invited to the event, including 800 from Switzerland, Russia, Kazakhstan and ASEAN countries.

The 11th China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week opens is held from July 26 to 30 in Guian New Area. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhao Yandi contributed to this story