Singapore is one of the countries that China look to for development experiences, but the Singapore experience is closer to that of China compared with other countries, as both economies went through rapid changes and frequent upgrading efforts over the past decades, said Zee Yoong Kang, chief executive officer of NTUC LearningHub, which has been partnering with Chinese institutions to offer technical and vocational training courses in Chinese cities including the southwestern city of Chengdu.

Many Chinese students nowadays enrol in public and private universities in Singapore.

The top universities are also launching campuses in China, with the NTU College in Tianjin expected to be inaugurated this year. It will be the first campus of the university in China.

The National University of Singapore, which will be offering courses in public policy and governance, sustainability planning and management, and corporate and financial governance, has launched the NUS-Suzhou Research Institute jointly with the Suzhou Industrial Park in 2010. The institute is also offering advanced courses in administration and management.

Annie Koh, vice president of the National University of Singapore, said it has been providing training for the managers of healthcare and financial organizations in China. It is important to put the training in Chinese context, she said.

Koh said the university considers China one of the important markets in its efforts to establish itself as an internationally influential organization.

She also said that the cooperation in education and training will be helpful for Singapore companies who are thinking of exploring the Chinese market.

"This is not just about education. We will bring a group of our own companies who are thinking global, and the examples of using what we use here, hopefully, opens the door for some of the other companies who are looking at internationalization," she said.

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