On 19 June, DCZ Managing Director Dr. Jürgen Ritter and expert Dr. Ahmatjan Rouzi visited the German Center in Harbin at the invitation of its director, Ms. Angel Zhao (Zhao Chunyu). They were joined by Mr. Ken Wang and five other colleagues from the center. Also known as the Sino-German Vocational Education Association, this institute opened its new office in 2023, located in the Songbei District of Harbin City. The office spans three impressive floors, designed with dedicated spaces for study and work in a German style.
Ms. Zhao introduced the institute’s main portfolio, explaining that it serves Heilongjiang province by promoting bilateral exchange and cooperation between China and Germany in the fields of education, business, technology, and culture. In the business sector, the Center’s focus areas include agricultural machinery, electrical engineering, robotics, and small to medium-sized enterprises. The institute is partially funded by the Heilongjiang provincial government, with additional revenue generated from services rendered to private companies.
According to Ms. Zhao, the institute has two key functions. The first is to assist German companies in settling in Heilongjiang province by providing logistical and networking services, and vice versa for Heilongjiang-based companies seeking to enter the German market. The second function is to promote educational exchanges at both the university and vocational college levels between two countries.
On the education front, the institute has successfully persuaded several high school districts in Heilongjiang province to offer German as the main foreign language, which is now included in the national college entrance exam (Gaokao) as an equivalent to English. Since 2020, at least 600 students in Heilongjiang province have graduated from high school with German language training, with many directly applying to universities in Germany using their Gaokao scores, certified by DSD German language diploma. Ms. Zhao highlighted the profiles of successful students who have been admitted to prestigious institutions such as TU Munich, LMU, and TU Berlin. Additionally, the institute plans to offer vocational training and apprenticeships in collaboration with partner German institutes, aiming to train at least 60 vocational trainees in the field of agriculture.
Ms. Zhao expressed a strong desire and commitment to attract more German companies to Heilongjiang and enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
At the end of the visit, Dr. Ritter introduced the work of DCZ and discussed potential areas for future cooperation in the field of agriculture and agricultural training.