Australian, NZ Education Delegation Visits Jinan Overseas Chinese Federation

Summary

A delegation of Australian and New Zealand educators visited the Jinan Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese on 13 October, led by Tang Huazhou, vice-president of the Shandong Association and General Chamber of Commerce of Tasmania. The delegation included Christine Buckley, deputy principal and head of the primary school at Middleton Grange School in New Zealand; Chris Hall, head of educational innovation at Pittwater House School in Sydney; and Kate Bartholomew, deputy principal of the primary school at St Margaret's Berwick Grammar in Melbourne. Li Wu, party secretary and chairman of the Jinan Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, and Ma Xindong, chief inspector of the Jinan Education Bureau, met the delegation.

The two sides held discussions on education co-operation, cultural exchange and the mobilisation of overseas Chinese community resources. Li welcomed the delegation and briefed them on Jinan's development and the federation's efforts in cultural exchange and in leveraging overseas Chinese networks to support opening-up. He expressed the hope that both sides would build an education co-operation platform, using traditional culture education as a vehicle to tell China's story well and spread Jinan's voice, and to promote exchanges between Jinan and Australia and New Zealand in culture, education and other fields.

Ma introduced Jinan's educational resources and international exchanges, saying the city has a well-developed education system with a solid schooling foundation and a number of schools with international exchange programmes. He supported friendly partnerships, teacher and student exchanges and cultural exchanges between Jinan's primary and secondary schools and institutions and overseas schools, and looked forward to using overseas Chinese networks as a bridge to build regular contacts between Jinan and Australian and New Zealand schools. The delegation thanked their hosts and introduced the features and educational resources of their schools, saying they would use the bridge role of overseas Chinese organisations to promote school partnerships, teacher and student exchanges and the implementation of education projects.

The delegation visited Jinan Kaiyuan Foreign Language Primary School and Jinan Foreign Language School, and signed memorandums of understanding on sister-school relationships. The Jinan Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese will follow up on the co-operation, leveraging its strengths in connecting China and the world and its overseas Chinese community resources to build platforms for exchange and co-operation at home and abroad. Li Min, secretary-general of the Shandong Association and General Chamber of Commerce of Tasmania, and Sun Hongcheng, party group member and vice-chairman of the Jinan Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, and other personnel attended the events.

Commentary

The signing of sister-school memorandums between New Zealand's Middleton Grange School and Jinan primary and secondary schools reflects a pragmatic shift in China's international education co-operation. China's education market is moving from simply importing curricula to two-way exchange, and demand for overseas sister schools is rising in second- and third-tier cities, offering New Zealand's small and medium-sized education providers a light-asset entry opportunity. New Zealand's education export sector is worth about NZ$5 billion a year, with China the largest source of students, but cooperation at the primary and secondary level remains largely short-term study tours.

This signing focuses on teacher and student exchanges and traditional culture education rather than degree programmes, lowering compliance risk and making it suitable for NZ SMEs to test the waters. At the same time, Australian schools are participating in the same delegation, intensifying regional competition, and New Zealand institutions need to highlight their local cultural features and flexible co-operation models. The overseas Chinese federation channel can reduce initial matchmaking costs, but the specific limits China's private education policies place on co-operation formats will need to be watched.

Keywords: Australian and New Zealand education delegation, Jinan Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, Jinan, education co-operation, sister-school memorandum, cultural exchange, overseas Chinese community resources, teacher and student exchanges

Summary in Chinese | 摘要

10月13日，澳大利亚塔州山东同乡会暨总商会副会长唐华胄率新西兰米德尔顿格兰奇学校副校长兼小学部负责人克里斯汀·巴克利、澳大利亚悉尼皮特沃特豪斯学校教育创新部负责人克里斯·霍尔、澳大利亚墨尔本圣玛格丽特贝里克文法学校小学部副校长凯特·巴塞洛缪兹等澳新教育代表团一行到访市侨联。市侨联党组书记、主席李武，市教育局总督学马新东会见来宾，双方围绕教育合作、人文交流、侨界资源联动等议题进行座谈交流。李武对代表团到访表示欢迎，介绍了济南市市情及市侨联对外文化交流、发挥侨界资源服务对外开放的举措，希望双方搭建教育合作平台，以传统文化教育为载体讲好中国故事、传播济南声音，促进济南与澳新地区在文化、教育等多领域交流交往。

马新东介绍了济南市教育资源及对外交流情况，表示济南教育体系完善、办学基础扎实，拥有多所开展国际交流合作的特色学校，支持中小学、院校与海外学校开展友好对接、师生互访和文化交流，期待依托侨界桥梁推动济南与澳、新地区院校建立常态化联系。代表团对接待表示感谢，介绍了澳、新当地学校办学特色与教育资源，表示将发挥侨团桥梁作用，推动两地院校对接，促进师生互访、教育项目落地。代表团一行参访了济南开元外国语小学、济南市外国语学校，并与学校签署友好学校备忘录。

下一步，市侨联将继续跟进后续对接事宜，发挥融通中外优势，依托海外侨团资源搭建海内外交流合作平台。澳大利亚塔州山东同乡会暨总商会秘书长李敏，市侨联党组成员、副主席孙洪成及有关人员参加上述活动。

Commentary in Chinese | 评论

新西兰米德尔顿格兰奇学校与济南中小学签署友好备忘录，折射出中国国际教育合作的务实转向。中国教育市场正从单纯引进课程转向双向交流，二三线城市对海外姊妹校需求上升，为新西兰中小型教育机构提供了轻资产进入机会。新西兰教育产业年出口额约50亿纽元，中国是最大生源国，但中小学层面合作仍以短期游学为主。

此次签约聚焦师生互访与传统文化教育，而非学历项目，降低了合规风险，适合NZ SME试水。同时，澳大利亚学校同团参与，区域竞争加剧，新西兰机构需突出本土文化特色与灵活合作模式。侨联渠道可降低初期对接成本，但后续需关注中国民办教育政策对合作形式的具体限制。

关键词: 澳新教育代表团, 市侨联, 济南, 教育合作, 友好学校备忘录, 人文交流, 侨界资源, 师生互访

Source: China News Service