China topped the gold medal count at the 44th WorldSkills Competition, which closed in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Oct 19.

China participated in 47 events and won 15 gold medals, seven silver medals and eight bronze medals. It's the best performance by the Chinese delegation in the competition since it joined WorldSkills in 2010, and is the fourth time China has participated.

Zhang Lixin, head of the Chinese delegation at the competition, says China got gold medals in all six competition categories in the event, including manufacturing engineering and technology, transportation and logistics, and information and communication technology.

"China showed to the world the excellent skills of its young skilled talent in the WorldSkills Competition. The good result the Chinese delegation got will also encourage Chinese youth and workers to develop in an atmosphere of respecting work, skills and creation and promoting the development of the country's skilled talent," says Zhang, who is also head of the Professional Capacity Building Department at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Around 1,260 competitors from 68 WorldSkills' member countries and regions participated in 52 competition events this year. China sent the largest-ever delegation of 52 members, ranging in age from 18 to 21. It was the first time that China participated in 18 of the events, Zhang says.

The 52 were chosen from more than 1,000 who took part in national competitions from July last year to April this year, he said.

In 2015, China got gold medals for the first time at the 43rd WorldSkills Competition, held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In total, China got five gold medals, six silver medals and three bronze medals in the event.

China was also selected in Abu Dhabi on Oct 13 to host the World-Skills Competition in Shanghai in 2021. President Xi Jinping had sent a video message in support of China's bid to host the event.

The WorldSkills Competition occurs every two years and is the world's biggest vocational education and skills excellence event.

The competitors are selected from member countries and regions and represent the best of their peers. They demonstrate technical abilities, both individually and collectively, to carry out specific tasks for which they study and will perform in the future.

China has 165 million skilled workers, and 47.91 million of them are highly skilled. Each year, more than 100 million people have access to technical and vocational education and training.

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(China Daily European Weekly 10/27/2017 page14)