The opening ceremony of the first Conference on Sino-German Vocational Education and a General Assembly were held in Auditorium129 at Tongjji University on December 22th and 23th. The theme of the conference was on the Development of Connotations for Promotion of Social Services More than 500 leaders and vocational education experts from 210 schools attended the conference which was organized by the Vocational Education Center of the Ministry of Education, Tongji University, and hosted by the Sino-German Vocational Education Union (SGVEU), the Sino-German (Shanghai) Vocational Education Association, Vocational Education Demonstration Base, Vocational and Technical Education Collage of Tongji University.

Professor Wu Zhiqiang, President of the Sino-German Vocational Education Alliance and Vice President of Tongji University, delivered sn opening speech. at the opening ceremony. In his speech, President Wu first introduced the Sino-German Cooperative Action Program: Create Innovation Together released by Chinese and German governments, China Strategy issued by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Science, and the German Strategy issued by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. Wu emphasized the importance in the development of SGVEU as well as the prospects for the future work; he also stressed the importance of building a comprehensive platform for learning, communication and cooperation. Finally, Wu made a statement on the new mission of Sino-German vocational education cooperation and the achievements made by Tongji University in vocational education and Sino-Germany cooperation against the background of German Industry 4.0 and Made in China 2025 Action.