New Milestones Accomplished in Chongqing-Brisbane Education Collaboration

Since October 2005， when Chongqing and Brisbane， Australia， established a sister city relationship， the two cities have maintained frequent interactions and exchanges and constantly deepened cooperation in various fields such as economy， trade， education， and scientific innovation.

In early July， Bashu Secondary School and the China Future Education （CFE） School Affiliated to East China Normal University （ECNU）， both of which are council members of the Chongqing Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， inked an online agreement with Moreton Bay College in Brisbane， Queensland， Australia， respectively. The agreements signify a commitment to establishing a collaborative platform for educational communication， aiming to foster mutual learning and bolster exchanges and cooperation across diverse domains such as education， sports， arts， literature， science， social studies， and culture.

This is a vivid practice where the Foreign Affairs Office of the Chongqing Municipal Government （Chongqing FAO） and the Chongqing Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries have fully played their roles as bridges and links to coordinate resources from the two sister cities and the council of the Association， expand channels for nongovernmental contacts， and enrich the connotation of interactions between the two cities.

According to the agreements， Bashu Secondary School and the CFE School Affiliated to ECNU will each establish an educational exchange platform together with Moreton Bay College to enhance mutual understanding. At the same time， the three schools will support cooperation and visits among administrative staff and teachers and actively engage them in a wide range of exchange activities for mutual learning. They will also facilitate collaboration among teachers in the development of teaching materials， online teaching， and online joint credit projects， particularly in bilingual projects. Students will be encouraged to participate in cooperative efforts to improve their language abilities and strengthen cross-cultural exchanges.

“Moreton Bay College possesses rich experience and excellent educational resources in the field of international education， and the signing of this strategic cooperation agreement will provide broader development opportunities for the schools education and teaching，” said Principal Li Xiaoke of Bashu Secondary School， adding that the two schools would also join hands to further promote the development of China-Australia educational exchanges， thereby providing students with broader international perspectives.

Principal Chen Zhenguo of the CFE School Affiliated to ECNU stated that the school is an innovative future-oriented school. He hoped that through international exchange and cooperation， the school would draw upon advanced educational concepts and resources from the world to enhance students international perspectives and cross-cultural understanding and cultivate international talent with fine Chinese traditions， a global outlook， innovation capabilities， a noble spirit， and robust physical health.

Moreton Bay College Principal Richard Henry expressed that he had participated in multiple cooperative exchanges with Chinese schools and deeply understood the importance of educational collaboration. He believed that this partnership would provide opportunities for mutual learning and development for students and teachers from both sides， fostering educational exchange and enhancing collaboration between China and Australia.

Bashu Secondary School was founded by patriotic military leader Wang Zuanxu in 1933. Adhering to the fundamental task of moral education and talent cultivation， the school has innovatively promoted the construction of various projects， such as top-notch innovative talent cultivation， digital campus development， and the construction of an international education center. It has achieved numerous honors， including being recognized as a National Civilized Campus， receiving the National “May 1st” Labor Certificate， being named the National Advanced School in Moral Education， the National Advanced Unit in Art Education， and one of the National Top Ten Advanced Schools in Science and Technology Education.

The CFE School Affiliated to ECNU in Liangjiang New Area is a private non-profit innovation-oriented school， following a nine-year educational system. It was built through the partnership between East China Normal University （ECNU） and CIFI Education Group. Adhering to the core concept of being “future-oriented”， the school relies on the academic background of universities such as ECNU to build learning and practice spaces such as “The Artificial Intelligence Lab of the University of California， Berkeley”， “Future City Lab”， and “Future Flight Lab”. This approach helps create A-STEM science and technology innovation characteristics. The school has become an experimental and exemplary A-STEM education characteristic school with wide influence in Southwest China and even the whole country.

On May 12， 2023， Bashu Secondary School and the CFE School Affiliated to ECNU officially became members of the Chongqing Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. They aim to actively engage in nongovernmental diplomacy and contribute to Chongqings efforts in becoming a center for international exchanges in central and western China.

Moreton Bay College， located in Brisbane， Queensland， Australia， consists of Moreton Bay Girls College and Moreton Bay Boys College. It is one of the top schools in Queensland that offer education from kindergarten preparatory class through grade 12.

Source/Official WeChat Account of Chongqing Foreign Affairs