On April 10, Princess Sirindhorn and her delegation visited Beijing Normal University (BNU). BNU President Yu Jihong met with the delegation. On the same day, Beijing Normal University (BNU), the UNESCO International Research and Training Centre for Rural Education (UNESCO INRULED) and the Chaipattana Foundation co-hosted the 2025 International Capacity Building Workshop on Education for Sustainable Rural Development. BNU President Yu Jihong met with the delegation. President Yu Jihong delivered the opening remarks, and Princess Sirindhorn gave a keynote speech.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of China-Thailand diplomatic relations and actively respond to the national call for building a regional community with a shared future, the '2025 Seminar on the Construction of the China-Thailand Education Community,' themed 'Heart-Unity for Five Decades, Joint-Efforts for A Shared Future: Building the China-Thailand Education Community,'was grandly inaugurated at the Room 318 in Yingdong Building in the same afternoon. The seminar was co-organized by the FOE-BNU and the UNESCO INRULED. It attracted over 40 participants, including faculty and students from 9 higher education and basic education institutions from both countries.

At the opening ceremony, Prof. Zhu Xudong, Dean of FOE-BNU, highlighted that education has played a pivotal role in strengthening the bonds between the two nations over the past five decades. He stressed that BNU is committed to advancing educational research and practice with a focus on inclusivity, equity, and sustainability and has achieved remarkable collaborative outcomes with Thailand in joint research, faculty-student exchanges, and other key areas, benefiting educators and students from both sides. He stated that this seminar aims to establish a dialogue platform for exploring innovative approaches to educational development, sharing best practices and addressing common challenges, and together to build a resilient, innovative, and forward-looking education community that benefits not only China and Thailand but also the broader global community.

Prof. Zhu Xudong delivered the opening remarks

The forum invited 9 academic and practical experts to from China and Thailand to deliver keynote speeches centering on the seminar’s theme.

Dr. Kritsachai Somsaman, Centre Director Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for STEM Education (SEAMEO STEM-ED), delivered a keynote report titled “From Rural Classrooms to Digital Frontiers: Co-Constructing an Inclusive Education Ecosystem”. He briefly introduced the basic information of his working institute. Then, he suggested that in the future, China and Thailand should launch more cooperation projects in rural classrooms by leveraging artificial intelligence and digital information technology.

Dr. Kritsachai Somsaman delivered a keynote speech

Dr. Song Ruoyun, former head of the Education Office at the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, presented a report titled “Deepening Cooperation and Openness to Advance the China-Thailand Education Community”. By systematically reviewing 50 years of bilateral educational collaboration, she recommended integrating educational cooperation into national diplomatic strategies, strengthening platforms like the China-ASEAN Education Leaders’ Meeting, and institutionalizing communication mechanisms to deepen the education community.

Dr. Song Ruoyun delivered a keynote speech

Dr. Pruet Siribanpitak, Professor of Chulalongkorn University, delivered an online keynote report titled “Current Situation, Development and Future Prospects of Thai-Chinese Education Cooperation”. Citing data on two-way student mobility, he highlighted the emergence of a new cross-border education landscape and advocated leveraging the China-Thailand Education Alliance to promote inter-university resource sharing and optimize the learning environment for international students.

Prof. Pruet Siribanpitak delivered a keynote speech

Dr. LIU Baocun, Director, Professor of Institute of International and Comparative Education, Beijing Normal University, presented a keynote report titled “Cooperation in Digital Education Between China and Thailand：Toward a China-Thailand Digital Education Community”. He analyzed opportunities and challenges in the digital education transformation of both countries, advocating for a digital education community focused on infrastructure connectivity, digital resource sharing, joint capacity-building for teachers and students, and participation in the UN’s digital learning initiatives.

Prof. Liu Baocun delivered a keynote speech

Dr. Wanwisa Suebnusorn Klaijumlang, Assistant Professor of Kasetsart University, delivered a speech titled “Shaping Future School Leaders for Thai-Chinese Educational Collaboration”. She emphasized cultivating future leaders through cross-cultural leadership pathways integrating Chinese educational philosophies like “Learn, so as to instruct others; Act, to serve as example to all” and “A virtuous leader wins people over with moral character”, proposing a four-dimensional framework of “Knowing, Acting and Co-growing” to build the education community.

Dr. Wanwisa Suebnusorn Klaijumlang delivered a keynote speech

Dr. KAN Yue, Professor, Dean of College of Education, Zhejiang University, delivered a keynote report titled “Belt and Road Initiative Contributed to the Development of China-Thai Education Community”. He stressed prioritizing “People-to-People Bond” under the BRI framework by advancing degree mutual recognition and joint curriculum development, while proposing expanded collaboration in digital education and vocational training.

Prof. Kan Yue delivered a keynote speech

Dr. Phattharamanat Sritrakul, Lecturer of Chiang Mai University, focused on “Principals as Bridge Builders: Innovating China-Thailand Educational Ties”. By comparing principal training systems in both countries, he proposed adopting China’s comprehensive principal development model to establish a “culturally responsive leadership” framework, enhancing principals’ roles in curriculum innovation and resource integration.

Dr. Phattharamanat Sritrakul delivered a keynote speech

Dr. ZHANG Qingling, Associate Professor of School of Education Science, Nanning Normal University, presented a report titled “The Characteristics and Prospects of Education Exchange and Cooperation Policies between China and Thailand since the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations 50 Years Ago —— From the Perspective of Policy Tools” Through policy instrument theory analysis, she proposed a “four-in-one” policy matrix combining authority policies, inducements policies, capacity-building policies, and system-changing policies to transition bilateral cooperation into regional synergy.

Dr. ZHANG Qingling delivered a keynote speech

Ms Ma Hong, CPC Secretary of Chongqing Bashu Primary School, delivered a speech titled “To see and understand the world with children” Sharing cases of internationalized basic education practices, she called for leveraging digital technologies to enhance global understanding education and nurture a new generation with both local roots and global perspectives.

Ms Ma Hong delivered a keynote speech

The roundtable forum invited five BNU scholars: Professor QI Chunxia (Institute of Curriculum and Pedagogy), Professor TONG Lili (School of Educational Technology), Associate Professor HUANG Yu (Institute of International and Comparative Education), Professor BAO Dongming (Executive Editor-in-Chief of International and Comparative Education), Dr. ZHUANG Tengteng (Institute of Higher Education). Centered on “Current Status and Future of China-Thailand Education Community Construction”, participants explored collaboration opportunities in their respective fields, expressing aspirations to enhance exchanges in talent cultivation, research partnerships, and teacher development for sustainable growth of the education community.

Roundtable discussion

The seminar was moderated by Prof. TENG Jun, Vice Dean FoE-BNU. Dr. HU Yiyun, Associate Professor, Vice Director of Institute of International and Comparative Education, FoE-BNU, delivered the closing remarks. She noted that the seminar laid a foundation for deeper cooperation through in-depth dialogue and proposed strengthening platform development, institutionalizing communication mechanisms, and fostering education alliances. She emphasized leveraging emerging technologies like AI to enable personalized learning, lifelong education, and interdisciplinary talent development, paving new paths for educational modernization.

Prof. Teng Jun moderated the seminar

Dr. Hu Yiyun delivered the closing remarks

Thus, the 2025 China-Thailand Education Community Construction Seminar concluded successfully. The event created a dialogue platform for educational elites to explore collaborative pathways, deepened consensus on digital education transformation, rural sustainability, and cross-cultural leadership, and injected vitality into regional educational innovation. By leveraging education as a bond, the seminar advanced the construction of a China-Thailand education community with a shared future, contributing wisdom and solutions to global sustainable development.

The geography makes us sit together; history encounter makes us bend together; globalization makes us work together; but our shared future makes us success together.

Group Photo