China is deepening international coopeation in vocational education – and Guinea's railways are a case in point. Sixty-two Guinean trainees are in Baotou, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, learning to run a railway. 

The four-month course combines classroom lessons, simulations and hands-on practice with real locomotives. Those who pass the final assessment will go home to help operate the line serving Guinea's Simandou iron ore project, which entered production in November 2025 and includes mining, railway and port infrastructure.

The training program is a landmark in China-Guinea cooperation on railway capacity building under the Belt and Road Initiative. It will help develop local talent to support Guinea's railway operations – and raise the profile of China's vocational education abroad. 

(Photos via CMG)