ChinAfrica: What has been achieved to date in China-Africa educational cooperation?

Liu Baoli: To date we have carried out nearly 60 aid projects in 25 African countries and set up 23 advanced laboratories in various fields including biology, microbiology, computer, physics, analytical chemistry, food processing, material science, gardening, and civil engineering. In recent years, most notably after the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2000, China-Africa educational cooperation has borne fruits in the following areas: educational mechanisms, educational aid bases, human resources training, scholarships, Confucius Institutes, sending teachers to Africa and African studies. 

What are the opportunities and challenges facing China-Africa educational cooperation?

The educational assistance to Africa has long been an important part of China's Africa policy. Education projects and training programs have helped Africa foster local personnel and technical forces, and supported Africa to embark on the road of self-reliance and independent, sustainable development. At the Fourth Ministerial Conference of FOCAC held in November 2009, Premier Wen Jiabao proposed eight new measures to promote China-Africa cooperation, responding to the new changes of the world situation and the actual needs of African countries. In August 2010, the Chinese Government held the National Conference on Foreign Aid to summarize its experience in this regard over the past 60 years. Since the beginning of this year, the turbulence in some countries in the Middle East and North Africa has impacted on regional security. This has a significant influence on China's assistance projects in that area, with foreign aid schemes facing new problems and challenges.

What are the objectives and focus of China-Africa educational cooperation in the future?

We wish to: improve bilateral and multilateral educational consultation mechanisms and hold Sino-African Education Ministers' Forum, China-Arab (10+1) Higher Education Cooperation Symposium, China-Africa University Leaders Meeting and many other bilateral and multilateral seminars on various themes on a regular basis; fully implement the "China-Africa Universities 20+20 Cooperation Plan" which will incorporate more universities in the future; standardize the management of the educational aid bases; increase the training of high-level talents; enhance the education quality of Chinese Government scholarship students from African countries and increase the proportion of master and doctoral students; support Chinese language teaching via more Confucius Institutes, HSK examination centers, Chinese language teaching volunteers and teachers and more teaching resources to African countries; create a talent pool for education-oriented foreign aid programs; and strengthen the educational assistance to Africa via the cooperation with UNESCO, already begun with 100 full scholarships via UNESCO each year, starting from 2011. 

What can we expect from this China-Africa University Leaders Meeting?

With the theme of "Practical Cooperation, Win-Win Development," the meeting will base the discussions on the needs of African universities, and explore the long-term and sustainable cooperative mechanism between Chinese and African universities, and the effective ways of cooperation among UNESCO, China and African countries.

What can African students learn from the Master of Public Administration (MPA) programs?

The MPA for developing countries program was jointly initiated by MOE and Ministry of Commerce in 2008. Being taught in English, this one-year program was practical and forward-looking, making it popular among African students. Today, development is top priority for all developing countries. How to achieve better and balanced development during this process is the main subject taught in the MPA programs, based on China's experience over the past decades.