Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Liu Xiang) news: From the exquisite murals in the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves to the blue domes of Samarkand, along the Silk Road, the dialogue between civilizations that spans mountains and seas has never ceased.

On May 12, 2025, the first China-Central Asia Education Ministers' Meeting was held in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang. It not only built a bridge of education for transnational collaboration but also activated a new engine for regional educational development through innovative mechanisms. This has infused the millennium-old Silk Road with fresh vitality in knowledge transmission, providing a robust impetus for building a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future.

Choosing Xinjiang for the first conference is in line with the timing and trend

From a temporal perspective, the convening of this meeting comes at an opportune moment. At a time when globalization is deepening and regional cooperation is continuously advancing, education, as the cornerstone of national development, has seen its significance in international cooperation grow increasingly prominent.

In May 2023, the first China-Central Asia Summit proposed the establishment of a mechanism for education ministers' meetings. Over the past two years, China and the five Central Asian countries have engaged in frequent exchanges and close cooperation in the field of education. The successful holding of the first meeting in Xinjiang is the result of the joint efforts of all parties involved.

Nurbek, the Minister of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan, said that, the establishment of the China-Central Asia Education Ministers' Meeting mechanism has installed a stable "engine" for educational cooperation among the participating countries. And he also expressed his hope that this would serve as a starting point to engage in deeper dialogues in areas such as education policy and resource sharing.

Photo shows the scene of the first China-Central Asia Education Ministers' Meeting in Urumqi City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily/ Liu Xiang)

From a geographical perspective, choosing Xinjiang as the venue for the meeting holds profound significance. As the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt, Xinjiang serves as a crucial bridge linking China with Central Asia. It has been a place of cultural convergence since ancient times, boasting a profound historical heritage and rich cultural resources.

Sharipov, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of Uzbekistan, remarked with emotion that Xinjiang, brimming with memories of the Silk Road, has developed so well. It makes him feel even more acutely the urgency and sense of mission in pursuing educational cooperation.

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China is geographically connected to Central Asia, shares similar cultural roots, and enjoys a deep affinity among its peoples, remarked by Saidzoda, the Minister of Education and Science of Tajikistan. He said that Xinjiang is like a golden way station linking the two countries, and the holding of this meeting here will make the bridge of cooperation even more solid.

Mirlan Chynybaev, President of Kyrgyz State Technical University, has already set his sights on the areas of cooperation, saying that he looked forward to leveraging that mechanism and relying on Xinjiang's geographical advantage of being adjacent to Central Asia to deeply integrate China's advanced engineering education model with local industrial demands, thereby cultivating more high-quality talents for his country's development.　

Deepen exchanges and cooperation in the mutual pursuit

In recent years, China's education sector has achieved globally recognized achievements, establishing the world's largest education system. China's educational development is inextricably linked with the world, and conversely, the world's educational progress cannot advance without China.

"China and Kazakhstan have already reached over a hundred cooperative agreements in the field of education."

"Uzbekistan will actively draw on China's experience to promote the modernization of its own education system and scientific research infrastructure."

"Over 6,000 citizens of Turkmenistan are studying in Chinese universities. Additionally, around 7,000 people are learning Chinese in universities and secondary schools in Turkmenistan, which serves as a concrete manifestation of the strengthening educational exchanges between the two countries."

At this meeting, education ministers from Central Asian countries all expressed their aspirations to further strengthen educational exchanges with China.

From China's perspective, continuously and profoundly promoting a high-level opening-up in education is also an inevitable requirement for education to serve the country's opening-up strategy and cultivate more outstanding talents for the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Photo taken on April 15, 2025 shows teachers and students from the Academy of Logistics and Transport (ALT), Kazakhstan visited Xinjiang Vocational and Technical College of Communications for academic study in Urumqi City, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo offered by Xinjiang Vocational and Technical College of Communications)

Since the inaugural China-Central Asia Summit, the Kazakhstan branch of Northwestern Polytechnical University, the Tashkent branch of Northwest A&F University, and the Kazakhstan branch of Beijing Language and Culture University have been successively inaugurated. These institutions are jointly engaged in cultivating high-level talents, which has become a new highlight in China-Central Asia cooperation.

Xinjiang is emerging as a convergence point for educational cooperation between Central Asia and China. Xinjiang's universities have signed 14 inter-university exchange and cooperation agreements with universities in Central Asian countries. For instance, Xinjiang University has strengthened cooperation with Samarkand State University in Uzbekistan, collaborating in areas such as the training of teaching and research staff, as well as promoting scientific internships for young scientists and researchers. Additionally, Xinjiang Medical University has engaged in in-depth cooperation with medical universities in Central Asian countries. The "China-Uzbekistan Traditional Chinese Medicine Center" established in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, has already served over 15,000 local patients and trained 544 medical talents from the five Central Asian countries.

At the meeting on that day, the China-Central Asia Industry-Education Integration Alliance and the Central Asia Institute of the Global Teacher Development Academy were inaugurated, and the China-Kazakhstan Institute for Excellent Engineers was established through a signing ceremony. These developments signify that Xinjiang will play an increasingly significant role in educational cooperation between China and countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, particularly those in Central Asia.

Li Guoliang, secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Education Department of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, stated that Xinjiang will further leverage its own advantages to continuously strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the five Central Asian countries in areas such as talent cultivation, international Chinese language education, scientific research collaboration, academic exchanges, and country and regional studies. By promoting high-level educational opening-up, Xinjiang aims to contribute more of its strength to the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as to serve and integrate into the new development paradigm.

Inject vigorous impetus into the development of all countries

"There is a saying among Kazakhs: 'Where there is unity, there is vitality.'" said Kazakh Minister of Education Gani Beisembayev. He added that under the mechanism of the China-Central Asia Education Ministers' Meeting, progress in the field of education will inject strong impetus into the development of all participating countries.

The Belt and Road Initiative has transitioned from a broad vision to meticulous implementation, and Xinjiang, as a pivotal hub, has transformed from a relatively isolated inland region to a frontier of opening-up to the outside world. Visiting delegations from various countries have been arriving in succession to observe the development of smart agriculture, witness the "Steel Camel Caravans" connecting Asia and Europe, and exchange ideas on how cross-border e-commerce empowers foreign trade development. Through Xinjiang, the magnificent landscape of Chinese-style modernization has become even clearer.

Kendirbaeva, Kyrgyzstan's Minister of Education and Science, said that today's Xinjiang presented a new scene of stability, harmony, and vigor, making remarkable strides in technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and other aspects, and that this was precisely the desired result of educational development. She expressed her anticipation that the "Luban Workshop" in Kyrgyzstan will help cultivate more talents who are well-suited to market demands, thereby providing effective support for the country's modernization drive.

As a "national calling card" representing China's vocational education going global, six "Luban Workshops" have successively taken root in Central Asia so far.

Gurbangeldiyev, the Minister of Education of Turkmenistan, said that thanks to the establishment of the workshops and the training provided by Chinese experts, their teachers and students could now gain access to and master modern equipment that had not yet been widely introduced in Central Asia. He added that this has improved the quality of education in our universities and given us a glimpse of a new future where Central Asian countries and China can achieve common development.

"Going it alone may be fast, but walking together ensures a longer journey." The China-Central Asia Education Ministers' Meeting mechanism serves as a bridge built through education, carrying the aspirations of the younger generation for knowledge and development.

Setting sail from this moment onward, let the blossoms of mutual learning among civilizations bloom along the Silk Road, and let the fruits of win-win cooperation benefit every inch of land.

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