China will stick to high-level opening up, push for high-quality development of educational cooperation with countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and pursue international educational exchanges and cooperation with all countries, Education Minister Huai Jinpeng said on Friday.

The country will strengthen international cooperation in high-level talent cultivation and science and technology, and encourage Chinese universities to carry out cooperative innovation in science and technology with global counterparts, Huai said via a video link to the 23rd China Annual Conference and Expo for International Education.

Themed "Reshaping Education: Adaptation and Transformation", the event was hosted by the China Education Association for International Exchange in Beijing.

Huai said China will work hard to strengthen the competitiveness of its international education standards and accelerate efforts to build the country into a center of talent and innovation.

It will actively participate in and initiate global education governance, present China's education plans, wisdom and experience to the world and make new contributions to the common development and sharing of human civilization, he said.

Building a community with a shared future for mankind is vital for all countries and they should create more exchange programs and conduct in-depth mutual visits of teachers and students to strengthen existing friendships, work together on global challenges and build a more open and inclusive world, he added.

Patricia Hildegard Flor, German ambassador to China, said Germany — renowned for its excellent educational institutions — has become one of the most popular destinations for Chinese who want to study abroad. Likewise, there have been thousands of Germans coming to China to immerse themselves in the culture and language and to learn and to grow, she said.

For Germany and China, these personal encounters have been extremely important. They have been, still are and will be in the future, the basis for building trusting and sustainable relationships on a societal level between our people and our civil societies, she said.

"Therefore, we are very glad to see that China has recently lifted epidemic restrictions, because this now opens a new chapter and will allow us to strengthen our ties again and to encourage young people, in particular from our countries, also from everywhere else, to seek opportunities to exchange with one another."

Looking forward into the current year, she hopes to see a return to the status quo, with students, academics and researchers moving freely everywhere, globally.

"Having welcomed the first (post-COVID-19) German students to Beijing this past month, I'm looking forward to seeing a lot more following soon," she added.