On March 21 and 22, 2017 National Professional Education and Continuing Education Working Conference was held in Suzhou. The main tasks of the conference were to conclude the working progress in 2016, to analysis the developing trend in "13th Five-Year Plan", to map out work in 2017, and to speed up the progress of professional education and continuing education.

Vice minister of Ministry of Education Li Xiaohong attended the meeting and delivered a speech. Principals of relevant departments and affiliated institutions of Ministry of Education, China Vocational Education Association, Chinese Society Of Vocational and Technical Education, Higher Education Academy of China, Chinese Adult Education Association, education administrative departments from provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), some industries, vocational colleges, colleges and universities attended the meeting.

President of CCE Prof. Zheng Wenli addressed on behalf of XMU in the meeting with a speech titled "strengthening administration, improving quality, and accelerating reform and development". Zheng Wenli introduced the continuing education in XMU to participants of the meeting and made a discussion with them in the aspects of the top-level design, the scale, the quality, and the coordinated development of continuing education, service for the socio-economic development and the construction of education-oriented society, and promoting the influence of continuing education of XMU.

The meeting arranged on the implementation of central decision-making, focused on the key tasks such as cultivating great country craftsmen, expanding the influence of professional education, dealing well with continuing education, and guided the direction of the development of professional education and continuing education in 2017.

In the future, CCE will further define explicitly talents cultivation orientation of continuing education, plan overall professional settings of continuing education, and constantly improve quality of talents training, build a flexible and open lifelong education system, and make positive contribution to the construction of education-oriented society.