The inaugural ceremony of the Côte d'Ivoire Luban Workshop is held on Dec 10, 2020. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Vocational education has become an important part of China-Africa cooperation in the past few decades, according to an article released by the Jamestown Foundation, a neoconservative think tank in the US.

In 2018, China announced that it would establish ten Luban Workshops in Africa to provide vocational training to local youths during the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. The project aims to achieve win-win results by sharing specialized techniques, vocational education and training experience.

The Luban Workshop supports China's wider diplomatic and economic exchanges with Africa. Under the Belt and Road initiative, investment in technical and vocational education projects such as Luban Workshop will continue to play an initial role in China's overseas assistance.

The workshops are in line with efforts to bring Chinese and African people closer through cultural interactions. Each country's workshops will focus on different technical skills that are consistent with the host country's development goals, as the article noted.

The Luban Workshop has received positive responses from its partners. This project is able to promote local youths' participation in China-Africa cooperation and improve China's image in African countries.