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Jo Johnson and China’s Minister of Education Yuan Guiren signed an ambitious framework agreement on education collaboration.

Minister for Universities and Science Jo Johnson and China’s Minister of Education Yuan Guiren signed an ambitious framework agreement on education collaboration at the third UK/China People to People Dialogue in London yesterday (17 September).

A total of 23 education agreements were signed at the 8th UK-China Education Summit, part of the People to People dialogue, which will see UK universities and organisations working closely with partners in China to boost joint academic research and student exchange, and to establish new institutions.

Culminating in the signing of a ‘UK-China Strategic Framework in Education’ both countries announced their commitment to expanding collaboration across higher, vocational and school education, and to work closely together in sports education.

Minister for Universities and Science Jo Johnson said:

Our relationship with China is entering a new phase of scientific and educational collaboration on an unprecedented scale. Our agreement will bring researchers together to address global challenges, change the lives of young people through better access to sports, and build partnerships across school, vocational and higher education to provide students in both countries with the right skills to become the leaders of the future.

Ministers from both countries witnessed signings that will see the UK working with China in the development of its sports education, with a focus on football. A joint football accreditation system will be developed, opening doors for Chinese football coaches to be trained in the UK, feeding into a national drive by the Chinese government to grow its sports sector.

Agreements were also signed to increase exchanges among researchers in the UK and China and to build their skills to enable further collaborations.

In addition, links will be created between 200 schools in the UK and China to organise exchange visits and work together on policy and curriculum development, in an effort to improve the provision of high-quality basic education in both countries. Science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), language, sports, arts and other creative subjects will be a major focus of this collaboration.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:

Education collaboration between the UK and China is vital if we are to learn from each other’s successes and to help us use international evidence of best practice to drive up academic standards in our schools.

The innovative maths teacher exchange is already improving maths teaching in England’s primary schools, but there is still much more both countries can learn from one another.

These new partnerships will allow us to share as well as helping to develop important language skills to secure stronger links in the future.

Notes to editors

UK-China Strategic Framework in Education

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and China’s Ministry of Education signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the ‘UK-China Strategic Framework in Education’, formalising both countries’ commitment to working together in the 6 key areas of higher education, vocational education, schools, language, sports, and mobility.