German Chancellor's trip with Premier opened a door for universities and entrepreneurs

China and Germany have again shown themselves to be an enlightening example of partnership and collaboration.

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has just paid a visit to China, the eighth since she became chancellor. One of the highlights was a visit to Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province, as her last stop, rather than a more well-known city such as Shanghai or Nanjing.

Premier Li Keqiang, who is from Hefei, had never accompanied any foreign leader on a trip to the city before.

This was a strong political sign. With this gesture, he recognized the efforts and the excellent collaboration between China and Germany. He also wanted to promote the nations' partnership in a broader way.

Li said he invited Merkel not only because it is his hometown, but also because Anhui is one of the most economically vigorous regions in China.

It seems the whole world is facing an economic slowdown, including China. Growth has slowed in the more-developed coastal cities and things are not much better elsewhere.

The first place Li and Merkel visited was Hefei University. Li called the college the most successful example of China-Germany collaboration in education.

This university is not as well known as other top Chinese colleges such as the University of Science and Technology of China, which is also in Hefei.

Hefei University was founded in 1980 and its first president was Yang Chengzong, one of China's best-known chemistry scientists.

In 1984, Anhui officials signed an agreement with the government of Germany's Niedersachsen state to build the university.

Almost from the beginning, the aim of this university was to learn from Germany in vocational education.

In the three decades since the university has established links with 17 German universities and colleges. More than 1,700 Chinese teachers from the university furthered their studies in Germany, and Germany has sent more than 300 teachers and about 600 students to Hefei.

In a speech on Oct 30 at Hefei University, Li said China is prepared to learn from Germany in the vocational education sector.

Germany has 50 to 60 years experience thanks to the Duales System Deuschland, a unique education system that combines a classroom education with practical work experience.

Many Chinese universities have said they want to use a similar method, but they still pay an unnecessary amount of attention to academic papers.

China has the largest population of college students, but to transform and upgrade the economy, it needs to do something to reform its higher education system.

Li and Merkel have opened a door, now Chinese and German colleges and entrepreneurs must go through it.

The author is a German-language and literature professor at Hefei University. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily European Weekly 11/06/2015 page11)