On June 11, 2025, the China-Europe International Conference on Vocational Education and High-Skilled Talent Development was held in Qingdao. The forum was co-hosted by the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and the China-EU Association under the theme "Empowering China-Europe Vocational Education and High-Skilled Talent Development in the Era of Digital Intelligence." Liu Qibao, Vice Chairman of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC and President of the China-EU Association; and Zapatero, former Prime Minister of Spain, attended and delivered remarks at the opening ceremony.
In his remarks, Liu Qibao stressed the importance of seizing the opportunity presented by the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and the EU to further deepen bilateral cooperation in vocational education. The two sides should enhance mutual learning and explore establishing a regular exchange mechanism to support the high-quality development of vocational institutions in both China and the EU; strengthen the integration of industry and education to cultivate more skilled talents for China-EU economic cooperation; pay attention to technological empowerment in meeting the challenges and opportunities posed by informatization, digitalization, and intelligentization and accelerate the transformation of vocational education by leveraging the momentum of artificial intelligence; bolster international collaboration to support the development of vocational education and high-skilled talents in China and other countries, contributing "China-EU wisdom" and "China-EU solutions" to the global discourse on vocational training.
In his remarks, Zapatero noted that economic and trade relations are essential to maintaining sound relations among countries and regions. However, over the medium and long term, education cooperation plays an equally crucial role in deepening and sustaining those relationships. Educational exchanges help build people-to-people connections and foster mutual understanding. He also pointed out that， the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the EU has provided a strong framework for advancing bilateral cooperation in education.
Participants engaged in in-depth discussions on a range of topics including During the forum, participants exchanged views on topics including "Opportunities and Challenges for Applied Technology Talent Education in the Era of Digital Intelligence," "Best Experiences of Industry Participation in Vocational Education," and "Joint Development of International Interdisciplinary Talents for Intelligent Manufacturing." There was broad consensus that deeper cooperation in vocational education is essential to driving forward China-EU relations in the era of artificial intelligence.
