China Education Expo highlights Germany

The China Education Expo 2012 opened Saturday in Beijing, with the theme of Sharing the Diversity of Global Education. More than 500 universities from 38 countries attended the two-day event, providing Chinese students the chance to communicate with foreign universities directly.

As the China Education Expo honors one guest country each year, Germany was chosen for the 2012 spotlight to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Germany.

Cornelia Pieper, Minister of State of Germany's Foreign Office, led the German delegation of over 100 people.

Pieper expressed that the cultural communication between China and Germany has made great progress.

"About 23,000 Chinese students went to Germany to study last year, ranking first among foreign students in Germany," she said. "The German government is trying to make it more convenient for Chinese students to apply for German universities."

Pieper also announced that Germany and China are planning to hold a "language year" in the two countries. The Year of German Language is expected to be held in 2013 in China, and The Year of Chinese Language will be held in 2014 in Germany.