China Focus: AI expands space for China-ASEAN education cooperation

GUIYANG, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- For Worawit Boonkate, a Thai youth born in the 1990s, three years of academic training in China has enabled him to become a competent artificial intelligence (AI) specialist and built a strong springboard for his professional future.

Having majored in communication engineering as an undergraduate in Thailand, he had no prior exposure to AI. Yet after three years of postgraduate study at Guizhou University in southwest China's Guizhou Province, he has made remarkable strides from a novice to a proficient AI practitioner.

Now Boonkate has been working at True Corporation, a major Thai telecommunications operator, for over two years, fully applying his AI expertise to product development and other tasks.

China's rapidly advancing technologies, abundant AI research publications and well-equipped laboratories have offered him a fertile ground for learning, he said.

The 2026 China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week, held in Guizhou from July 28 to Aug. 2, saw participants concur that AI is becoming a new driver of educational collaboration between China and ASEAN countries.

The event attracted officials of education departments, university presidents, and experts from across the region.

Badri Munir Sukoco, acting secretary-general of Indonesia's Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, highlighted China's strengths in AI and expressed the hope that Indonesia could learn from China's experience in integrating AI into higher education curricula and promoting industry-education integration.

He also envisioned joint AI-powered initiatives in areas including traditional medicine and new materials.

"AI is transforming education and the workplace. It is therefore important that we prepare our students with digital knowledge, critical thinking, practical skills, AI ethics and human-centric skills that AI cannot easily replicate," said Daravone Kittiphanh, vice minister of Education and Sports of Laos.

She noted that the partnership between the National University of Laos and Guangxi Minzu University has given rise to an AI development center, while cooperation with other Chinese universities continues to support research, innovation and graduate education.

Chinese universities are introducing targeted training programs to cultivate cross-border AI talent for ASEAN markets.

Shandong University, for instance, has launched a tailored training program focused on intelligent manufacturing with Vietnamese universities and Goertek, a smart hardware maker in east China's Shandong Province.

Under the program, the first batch of 20 Vietnamese students have completed a four-month course at Shandong University, covering Chinese language and AI-related subjects, before joining Goertek's branch in Vietnam.

Shanghai University has also rolled out an "art plus AI technology" education model across its film, fine arts and music schools, which has attracted numerous ASEAN students, according to Yu Xuemei, deputy head of the university.

In addition, it runs an AI-assisted platform at its Confucius Institute in Thailand to facilitate Chinese language teaching efforts.

In recent years, Guizhou has established exchanges and cooperation relations with more than 90 universities and educational institutions in the ASEAN region and Belt and Road partner countries. The province has also set up 17 training bases for schooling projects in the ASEAN countries, receiving a total of 20,900 students from the region.

"The biggest gain of studying in China is not only AI expertise and Chinese language proficiency, but also a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and greater self-discipline -- all of which have become important pillars for my career development," said Boonkate. ■