CCC in 1 "Silk Road Splendor" Delegation Visits Addis Ababa University — China-Ethiopia Industry-Education Integration Opens New Chapter in Education Going Global
Addis Ababa, 30 July — On 30 July local time, under the overall coordination of the Ethiopia International Silk Road Reception Hall, a Chinese education and industry delegation led by Ms. Zhao Zichen, Secretary-General of the Development Zone and New Forms of Employment Working Committee of the China Association for the Employment of University Graduates, and Mr. Cheng Cheng, Vice Dean of the School of International Education of Shanghai Lingang University of Industry, visited Addis Ababa University, the premier institution of higher learning in Ethiopia. The two sides held in-depth discussions on deepening China-Ethiopia higher education cooperation, the internationalization of vocational education, China-Africa industry-education integration, and joint talent cultivation. Ms. Mesay, lawyer at Makuta Law Firm of Ethiopia, and Mr. Wang Chunmi of the Modern Service Industry Working Committee of the Economic Joint Committee of China Commercial Stock Enterprises, also participated in the visit.
This visit represents another major exchange activity by the Chinese delegation in Ethiopia, following the official inauguration of the Ethiopia International Silk Road Reception Hall and the successful holding of the China-Ethiopia Enterprise Cooperation and B2B Business Matchmaking Conference. It signifies that China-Ethiopia cooperation is expanding from industrial investment and economic and trade matchmaking to deeper collaboration in education and talent development, forming a new dual-driven cooperation paradigm of "industrial going global paired with educational empowerment."
Founded in 1950, Addis Ababa University is the oldest, largest and most comprehensive national university in Ethiopia, and one of the most influential institutions of higher learning in East Africa. It has consistently ranked first among Ethiopian universities and boasts strong teaching and research capabilities in engineering and technology, medicine, law, agriculture, social sciences and other fields. Over the past seven decades, the university has nurtured a large number of high-level talents for Ethiopia and Africa at large, playing an irreplaceable role in national economic and social development and regional higher education cooperation.
During the visit, the delegation called on the President's Office and the School of Law of Addis Ababa University, and held working discussions with Prof. Matiwos Ensermu Jaleta, Director of the President's Office; Ms. Lisa, Administrative Officer of the President's Office; Prof. Muradu Abdo, Dean of the School of Law; and Dr. Mekete Bekele, PhD supervisor at the School of Law.
Prof. Matiwos Ensermu Jaleta extended a warm welcome to the Chinese delegation. He noted that Addis Ababa University attaches great importance to exchanges and cooperation with Chinese universities and educational institutions, and that China-Ethiopia educational cooperation has continued to deepen in recent years, providing strong support for Ethiopia's talent development and economic and social progress. He expressed the university's readiness to work with Chinese partners to fully leverage their respective strengths and continuously expand the depth and breadth of cooperation in international education, talent cultivation, academic research, industrial cooperation and youth exchanges, so as to jointly nurture high-quality talents with both international perspectives and practical capabilities, and contribute positively to Ethiopia-China educational cooperation and the development of bilateral friendly relations.
At the symposium, the two sides held in-depth exchanges on a range of topics, including China-Ethiopia higher education cooperation in the new era, innovative models of industry-education integration at universities, the development of international education cooperation mechanisms, joint cultivation of international students, collaborative research and innovation, think tank development, and serving China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. They focused extensively on promoting international cooperation in vocational education and reached broad consensus on multiple fronts.
The two sides focused their discussions on the preparatory framework for the China-Africa Vocational Education Development Conference, proposed to be held in Ethiopia in 2027. They agreed that the conference should serve as an opportunity to build a high-end platform for China-Africa vocational education exchanges and cooperation, promote in-depth collaboration among vocational colleges, industry associations, enterprises and government agencies, and jointly explore technical and vocational talent cultivation models that meet the needs of Africa's industrial development, thereby providing solid talent support for Africa's industrialization process.
The two sides also exchanged views on the establishment of a new energy vehicle industry college. They expressed the hope that, by combining China's strengths in the new energy vehicle industry with Ethiopia's needs for green and low-carbon development, they could explore cooperation in school-enterprise collaborative education, joint program development, faculty training, curriculum development and practice base construction, so as to cultivate local high-quality technical and vocational talents for Africa's new energy vehicle industry and support Ethiopia's industrial transformation and green development.
In addition, the two sides held in-depth discussions on advancing the establishment of an HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test) test center at Addis Ababa University, strengthening Chinese language education cooperation, conducting international student exchanges, and organizing youth cultural exchange activities. They agreed that further efforts should be made to promote China-Ethiopia people-to-people exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations, build a broader platform for learning and exchange between the youth of the two countries, and consolidate the social foundation of China-Ethiopia friendship.
Ms. Zhao Zichen stated in the exchange that China's vocational education is currently accelerating its pace of internationalization, and the "going global" of vocational education has become an important initiative serving the Belt and Road Initiative and supporting Chinese enterprises in overseas expansion. She introduced that the CCC in 1 Global Co-Creation Center, as the core hub platform driving China's industry-education going global, is systematically building a "Silk Road Reception Hall + Silk Road Station" network across Chinese provinces and overseas countries to serve as the physical carrier for two-way industry-education cooperation. Meanwhile, leveraging the Global Co-Creation Center's information database mini-program, the platform enables precise matching of supply and demand between Chinese and foreign enterprises, as well as efficient alignment of international student talent resources worldwide, providing digital support for industrial overseas expansion and educational internationalization.
She pointed out that the Ethiopia International Silk Road Reception Hall, as an important platform for China-Ethiopia industrial cooperation, will give full play to its resource integration advantages, work with universities, industry associations, enterprises and government agencies on both sides, and promote the establishment of a vocational education cooperation platform for East Africa. This will provide a more comprehensive talent cultivation and on-the-ground service system for China's vocational education "going global" and the overseas development of Chinese enterprises, realizing the positive interaction of "wherever industry goes, education follows."
Mr. Cheng Cheng remarked that Addis Ababa University, with its long history and profound academic heritage, is one of the most influential institutions of higher learning in Africa. The School of International Education of Shanghai Lingang University of Industry has always adhered to the philosophy of open education, actively promoted international education cooperation and industry-education integration, and developed a distinctive "industrial park + university"办学 model. He expressed the hope that this visit would serve as an opportunity to further deepen bilateral cooperation in international education, vocational education, industry college development, international research collaboration and student practical exchanges, jointly serving high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between China and Ethiopia and educational cooperation under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and contributing to the cultivation of international talents with global vision and cross-cultural competence.
Industry analysts point out that this visit carries significant symbolic meaning. On the one hand, it marks the upgrading of China-Ethiopia cooperation from a singular focus on economic and trade investment to a dual-driven "industry + education" model, with education going global emerging as an important supporting pillar for Chinese enterprises' overseas expansion. On the other hand, Ethiopia, as Africa's second most populous country and a key economy in East Africa, is in an accelerated phase of industrialization with strong demand for technical and vocational talents. China's mature experience in vocational education is highly aligned with Ethiopia's industrial needs, offering vast cooperation potential. By combining the offline physical network of "Silk Road Reception Halls + Silk Road Stations" with the online digital platform of the information database mini-program, the CCC in 1 Global Co-Creation Center has built a three-in-one industry-education going global service system that integrates "online + offline," "domestic + overseas," and "industry + education," providing a replicable and scalable innovation model for China's educational internationalization and enterprises' global expansion.
Looking ahead, as the platform functions of the Ethiopia International Silk Road Reception Hall continue to improve and the Silk Road network of the CCC in 1 Global Co-Creation Center continues to expand, China-Ethiopia educational cooperation is expected to achieve breakthroughs in multiple dimensions: first, the export of vocational education standards, promoting the localization of China's quality vocational education curriculum systems, practical training standards and faculty training models in Ethiopia; second, the joint construction of industry colleges, focusing on key areas such as new energy, intelligent manufacturing, digital economy and modern agriculture, to jointly build distinctive industry colleges and achieve deep industry-education integration where "enrollment equals recruitment and graduation equals employment"; third, the international promotion of the Chinese language, accelerating the deployment of HSK test centers and cultivating local compound talents who are proficient in both Chinese language and technical skills; fourth, institutionalized youth exchanges, leveraging the Global Co-Creation Center's information database mini-program to establish regular exchange channels for Chinese and Ethiopian students, enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between the youth of the two countries; fifth, deepened think tank cooperation, jointly conducting research on China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, industrial development and education policies to provide intellectual support for China-Ethiopia pragmatic cooperation; sixth, precise talent matching, breaking through information barriers between enterprise hiring needs and international student talent supply through digital platforms to achieve efficient allocation of human resources.
This visit has further deepened mutual understanding and trust between the two sides, built a broader cooperation platform for advancing China-Ethiopia higher education exchanges, the internationalization of vocational education, and China-Africa industry-education integration, and injected new educational momentum into serving Belt and Road construction and building a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.
About CCC in 1 Global Co-Creation Center
Operated by CCC in 1 (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. and under the guidance of The Modern Service Industry Working Committee of The Economic Joint Committee of China Commercial Stock Enterprises, the CCC in 1 Global Co-Creation Center is a comprehensive industrial service platform focused on cultivating new quality productive forces and serving the new dual-circulation development pattern, with the core philosophy of "innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity".
The center adopts a deeply integrated service model of "online digital hub + offline physical network": it runs the Silk Road Nebula · Global Co-Creation Center Information Database mini-program online, and deploys Silk Road Reception Halls and City Stations worldwide offline, linking official resources from embassies of over 100 Belt and Road countries in China.
Serving local governments, industrial parks, Chinese and foreign enterprises, universities and communities, the center provides full-chain services including investment attraction, non-tax revenue growth, enterprise outbound expansion, supply-demand matchmaking, industry-education integration, talent cultivation, stock asset revitalization and smart governance. It is committed to removing information barriers in Sino-foreign economic and trade exchanges, building an ecosystem for coordinated development among government, universities, enterprises and society, and providing all-round support for high-quality and sustainable regional economic growth.
