More Chinese vocational schools and companies will work together to set up workshops in Uzbekistan to help cultivate local technical talent. The two countries have deepened their cooperation in education in recent years.

Thirteen agreements were signed between Chinese colleges and enterprises and Uzbek schools at the China-Uzbekistan Vocational Education Cooperation Conference in Chongqing on Friday. The agreements spanned fields like public health, new energy vehicles, telecommunication, construction, machine manufacturing, forestry, energy and finance.

Chongqing Vocational Institute of Engineering (CVIE) and Chinese tech giant ZTE will build a Sino-Uzbek telecommunication college with Tashkent Transport Technical College in the capital of Uzbekistan.

China's Anhui Water Conservancy Technical College, the Uzbekistan plant of China's leading NEV carmaker BYD and a local college will establish a Sino-Uzbek NEV industry college.

In recent years, relations between China and the Central Asian country have been elevated to a new height as an all-weather, comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era.

In September 2024, under the guidance of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission, CVIE and 124 other Chinese and Uzbek institutions jointly launched the China-Uzbekistan Vocational Education Alliance.

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

Facing a changing manufacturing landscape and growing demand for skilled workers, the Chinese government is calling for urgent investments in vocational education to improve the technical capabilities of its workforce.

In order to fulfill its needs, 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 the countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

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

"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."

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 over 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 its cooperation with big companies such as BYD, Huawei and ZTE," he said at the conference.

The alliance has facilitated over 20 cooperation projects and promoted the construction and sharing of technical standards and resources, including 30 teachers' training courses and eight practical training projects, said CVIE Party Chief Yi Jun.