Organized by the National Institute of Education Sciences (NIES), the Belt and Road Education Dialogue – entitled “Research, Policy-making and Innovation” - was held in Beijing on November 27–29th, 2017. In support of the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the MoE’s “Education Action Plan on Promoting the Belt and Road Initiative”, the Dialogue was looking to strengthen communication and cooperation in education among countries involved in the initiative.
The Dialogue brought together some 70 representatives from nearly 60 countries and several international organizations. There were also over 200 educational officials, scholars and experts from the MOE, local governments, universities, and primary and secondary schools in China. Also in attendance were Zheng Fuzhi, Vice Minister of Education; Tian Huisheng, President of NIES; Lu Mei, Counselor of the Department of International Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Tao Hongjian, Deputy Counselor of the Department for International Cooperation and Exchanges at the MOE.
At the opening ceremony, Zheng Fuzhi addressed China’s experiences and practices in advancing the reform and development of education. He then made three proposals: 1) the establishment of mechanisms to allow education think-tanks to cooperate on research; 2) the establishment of a new mode of resource-sharing to create the synergy for education development and help bring about more win-win situations; and 3) the creation of new platforms for educational exchanges with the aim of exploring innovation and development.
