Gu Shengzu, vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, led a survey team to the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Beijing on May 18.

It was a warm-up survey for a biweekly consultation meeting on giving full play to the role of vocational education in rural vitalization to be held by the CPPCC National Committee.

The team was composed of members of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the CPPCC National Committee and the Central Committee of the China National Democratic Construction Association.

The team held a symposium with officials from the MOE and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, as well as representatives of vocational colleges and experts.

In his speech, Gu commended the "significant achievements" of China's vocational education and rural vitalization and called for efforts to organize vocational education and training programs to meet various needs of emerging industries in rural areas, cultivate more skilled farmers, and offer tailored training courses for returned migrant workers.

Gu said rural areas can be rejuvenated through promoting industry-education integration, urban-rural coordination, and the integrated development of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries, extending industrial chains, boosting the value chain, and advancing the flow of production factors and two-way market access between the urban and rural areas, as well as deepening cooperation between colleges and enterprises.

To attract more talents to play their role in rural vitalization, Gu suggested improvements in policy support for the education, introduction, management, utilization, flow and incentives of talents.

Education Minister Huai Jinpeng, Vice-Minister Sun Yao, principals of vocational schools, as well as experts and scholars, briefed the survey team on the development of vocational education.

The attendees focused their discussion on strengthening overall planning and integration, accelerating the issuance of supporting documents for the newly revised Vocational Education Law to support rural vitalization, and offering targeted training for high-quality farmers.