At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron paid a state visit to China from December 3rd to 5th.
On December 5th, the Ministry of Education of China and the Ministry of Higher Education and Research of France jointly held the 2nd Sino-French Education Development Forum in Chengdu, Sichuan. Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Education of China, and Patrick Hetzel (Minister of Higher Education and Research, France) attended the forum and delivered keynote speeches.
The Sino-French Education Development Forum focuses on key areas of consensus reached by the heads of state of China and France. It serves as a regular dialogue mechanism at the ministerial level to plan the strategic direction of Sino-French education cooperation. The 2nd Forum was a significant supporting event for President Macron's visit, reflecting the joint will and active actions of both governments to advance higher education cooperation and deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership under high-level guidance.
Ma Hongwei, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of our university (DGUT), along with representatives from our partner institution, the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM), and personnel from the International Exchange & Cooperation Office and the DGUT-CNAM Institute, attended the conference.
At the meeting, witnessed by Ministers Huai Jinpeng and Patrick Hetzel, our university took the stage to display the agreement as a representative of Chinese institutions cooperating with France.
This forum is a crucial implementation event following the 7th Meeting of the China-France High-Level Mechanism for Dialogue on People-to-People Exchanges in July 2025. It aims to promote the institutionalized development of Sino-French education cooperation and facilitate deep docking and implementation of results in higher education. During the forum, universities from both sides reached 54 cooperation outcomes, covering dual-degree joint training programs, cooperative education projects, student exchange programs, joint research laboratories, and overseas campus construction.
On the afternoon of December 5th, President Macron visited Sichuan University in Chengdu. Ma Hongwei was invited to participate in related activities.
In recent years, DGUT has vigorously implemented an internationalization strategy, actively expanding substantive cooperation with many European universities and research institutions. It has established stable cooperative relationships with CNAM, EDP Sciences, and other institutions. In 2024, the school established the European Innovation Center in Paris, France. As a key pivot for the school's international layout, it contributes to the deep integration of science, technology innovation, and talent cultivation between China and France. Since its establishment, the European Innovation Center has facilitated the implementation of multiple Sino-French scientific and technological talent exchange projects, building a platform for two-way interactive scientific research cooperation.
Participation in this forum further highlights the school's active role in promoting international industry-university-research collaborative innovation and injects new momentum into deepening Sino-French higher education cooperation.
The DGUT-CNAM Institute (hereinafter referred to as the "Sino-French Institute"), co-founded by Dongguan University of Technology and CNAM, is the first Sino-foreign cooperative education institution in Dongguan and the sixth in Guangdong Province approved by the Ministry of Education. With the tenet of being "Application-oriented, Local, and International," the institute focuses on the field of intelligent manufacturing and is committed to cultivating localized international engineers. Students are registered with dual status in both China and France. In their third year, 100% of students have opportunities for overseas exchange, and graduates can obtain dual degrees from both universities. In 2024, the institute's achievements were reported by China Daily.
Taking the 2nd Sino-French Education Development Forum as an opportunity, DGUT will deeply integrate into the new mechanism of Sino-French education cooperation, continue to leverage the role of the European Innovation Center as a bridgehead, promote joint scientific research and talent training with high-level French universities in frontier fields such as AI, green energy, and advanced manufacturing, and help build a more open, inclusive, and mutually learning global education cooperation pattern.
