Education experts and officials from China and Germany gathered on Thursday to mull over ways of furthering bilateral education cooperation.

The one-day 3rd Sino-German education forum, focusing on professional education cooperation, was jointly hosted by the Confucius Institute of Hamburg and Germany's KWB company.

Monika Auweter-Kurtz, chancellor of Hamburg University, said at the forum's opening ceremony that Chinese students and researchers studying in Germany have made great contributions to German education.

Hamburg University, which has more than 200 overseas Chinese students and scholars, has attached great importance to cooperation with Chinese higher-learning institutes and hoped to expand academic and personnel exchanges, the chancellor said.

Education Counselor of Chinese embassy Jiang Feng described the Sino-German education cooperation as "multi-level and comprehensive."

Also speaking at the opening ceremony, Jiang said that nearly 37,000 Chinese students are currently studying in German colleges and universities, while more than 3,000 German students are studying in China.

The statistics testified the two countries' close relationship in the field of education, Jiang added.

About 80 education experts from two countries attended the forum and held discussions on how to enhance bilateral exchanges on compulsory education, professional training and higher education.

The experts said that China's increasing domestic demand for professional education and training have brought huge opportunities for prestigious German professional education institutes.

(Xinhua News Agency September 25, 2008)