Zhejiang Institute of Economics and Trade (ZJIET) is a full-time public vocational college. It is a national high-quality college, a national Double High construction institute, and a Double High college in Zhejiang Province. It was approved to be established by the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province in 1999 and officially established in January 2002 on the basis of Zhejiang Supply and Marketing School founded in 1979 and Zhejiang Supply and Marketing Staff College founded in 1984. It was moved to Qiantang District, Hangzhou in 2004. In 2018, with the approval of the Zhejiang Provincial Institution Coding Committee Office, ZJIET doubles as Zhejiang College of Cooperative Economics under the management model of “Two Colleges, One Management Team”.

Over the past four decades or more since its inception, with the support and care of all levels and sectors, ZJIET has been crowned Excellent Institute in Higher Vocational and Technical Talent Training Work Level Evaluation by the Ministry of Education, Demonstrative Vocational College in Zhejiang Province, and Demonstrative Vocational College of the All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives. It has also been rated as High-Quality and Key Construction Institute in Vocational Colleges of Zhejiang Province, a college collaboratively constructed by the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province and All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, along with Deputy Committee Member of the Supply and Marketing Vocational Teaching Guidance Committee under the Ministry of Education. In 2022, the institute was rated “excellent” in the mid-term performance evaluation of the national Double High construction.

The school encompasses an area of 575 acres and currently has 12,772 full-time students (including international students) and 634 faculty members. It has a total of 5 national outstanding teachers, 10 national supply and marketing outstanding teachers, 4 national supply and marketing outstanding educators, 1 national teaching innovation team for vocational educators, 1 national skill master studio, 1 national curriculum ideological and political teaching master and teaching team. Additionally, the institute boasts 1 provincial Huang Danian-style faculty team, 3 provincial vocational education teaching innovation teams, 2 provincial teacher teaching innovation teams for integrated secondary and higher vocational education and 1 provincial ideological and political education master workshop, 1 provincial distinguished teacher, 1 provincial outstanding middle-aged and young expert, 3 provincial teaching masters, 4 provincial excellent teachers, 2 provincial teaching masters on the “Ten Thousand Talent Program”, 1 provincial technical expert, 20 provincial professional leaders, 2 Zhejiang craftsmen, 2 Zhejiang young craftsmen. Moreover, 2 teachers have been selected into the Qiantang River Talent Support Program, 1 teacher into the provincial Young Scientist Training Program, and 1 teacher in the Zhejiang Province “152” Party History Talent Program.”

Optimizing the professional layout. The institute endeavors to carry out the basic task of fostering virtue through education and set up specialties in line with regional economic and social development as well as supply and marketing industry reform. It currently has 11 secondary schools, including School of Business Intelligence, School of Food and Health, School of Digital Trade, School of Digitally Intelligent Accounting and Finance, School of Creative Design, School of Precise Intelligent Manufacturing, School of Cooperative Economics, School of Public Education, School of Marxism, School of Continuing Education, and School of International Education College (Haaga-Helia Digital Technology and Operation Joint School). So far, the institute has developed a specialty cluster framework featuring “industrial integrated development” led by one core (digital commerce specialty cluster), driven by two wings (digital, smart, financial and economic specialty cluster; creative design specialty cluster) and supported by three wheels (food health specialty cluster; precise intelligent manufacturing specialty cluster; modern agriculture specialty cluster). It offers 33 vocational college specialties such as E-Commerce, Big Data and Accounting, International Economics and Trade, Modern Logistics Management, Exhibition Planning and Management, Food Inspection and Detection Technology, New Rural Economic Organization Management, etc. It also offers a four-year undergraduate vocational education talent training pilot specialty jointly with Zhejiang A&F University in Food Quality and Safety (Agricultural Products Processing and Quality Inspection Technology), two-year upgrade specialties with Zhejiang Gongshang University in E-commerce, Computer Science and Technology, as well as two international specialties with Finland’s Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in E-commerce and Hotel management & Digital Operations.

Continuing to deepen connotative construction. The institute makes continuous efforts to propel the Quality Improvement Action Plan and strength the lifeblood for high-quality development. It has built 1 professional group in the national Double High construction for e-commerce, 2 professional groups in the provincial Double High construction for e-commerce and food inspection and test technology, 2 projects supported by the Central Finance to enhance the professional service ability of higher vocational schools, 6 national backbone specialties, 2 provincial key specialties, 6 provincial advantage specialties, 5 provincial characteristic specialties, and 3 provincial model specialties. It has also won multiple national honors such as a first and a second prizes of national teaching achievements awards, 6 provincial teaching achievement awards, 1 second prize in the First National Award for Textbook Development, and 1 second prize in the National Teaching Ability Competition for Vocational Colleges. Apart from a national teaching database, the institute also has 1 national research project on the systematic construction of innovative vocational education teams, 2 national high-quality resource-sharing courses, 18 national and provincial high-quality online open courses, 17 national and provincial exemplary courses on ideological and political education, 1 provincial textbook research center, 36 national-level planning textbooks for vocational education, 11 key provincial textbooks for the “14^th Five-Year Plan” in the first batch, and 24 new forms of textbooks for regular institutions of higher learning during the “13^th Five-Year Plan”. The institute also boasts a number of research projects at both national and provincial levels including those funded by the National Social Science Fund of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Projects under the Ministry of Education etc.

Being committed to serving regional development. By adhering to the concept of “focusing on the region, relying on industries and serving agriculture, rural areas, and farmers”, the institute seeks to establish a joint education mechanism taking industries as the backbone, the institute as the principal part, the government as the promote and enterprises as full participants. Continuous efforts are made to polish the golden calling card of the institute as “provider of agricultural services based on farmers’ needs”. The institute is equipped with a number of institutions under All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, including the Vocational Education Research Center, the Entrepreneurship Training Base of the Hangzhou National Science and Technology Specialists, and the E-commerce Vocational Education Base. Plus, the institute is also home to National Vocational Skill Identification Station, Zhejiang Branch Center for China Farmer Cooperatives of Zhejiang University, Food Testing Center, Zhejiang Oriental C&E Industry Research Institute, Cooperative Economic Research Institute, Credit Management Research Institute, Research Center for Leisure Agriculture and Rural Tourism and Cooperative Economic Research Think Tank, which is a key think tank of All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives. The institute has received recognition from the Ministry of Education for 3 application technology collaborative innovation centers (including 1 provincial-level application technology collaborative innovation center), 2 typical cases of education-industry integration and cooperation by the Ministry of Education, 1 provincial vocational education demonstration virtual simulation training base, 2 provincial industry-education integration demonstration bases, 1 provincial internship and training base, 1 provincial demonstration for continuing education (social training) base, and 1 provincial community education demonstration base. It has also built 1 provincial industry-education alliance project, 14 provincial industry-academic cooperation collaborative training projects, led the construction of 1 industry-education integration community, and participated in 1 municipal industry-education integration consortium under the Ministry of Education in the first batch.

Further advancing international cooperation. The institute adheres to the internationalized school-running approach of “promoting both introduction and output, and integrating industry and education” so as to enhance its international influence. Actively responding to the Belt and Road Initiative, it has established cooperation with over 30 colleges, universities, enterprises, and business organizations in Thailand, Malaysia, Finland and other countries. It has set up 1 China-foreign cooperative education institution upon approval, built 4 provincial Silk Road colleges, and was selected among the first batch of pilot colleges for Sino-German Advanced Vocational Education (SGAVE). Plus, the institute is ranked among the Top 50 National Higher Vocational Colleges with International Influence, Top 50 Influential Asia-Pacific Vocational Colleges, Typical College for International Cooperation in Vocational Education, and Demonstration College for China-Thailand “Chinese + Vocational Skills”. It has also been approved as a construction institute for Taiwan youth entrepreneurship innovation platforms in Zhejiang Province. The institute is also the first chairman institute of the Western Australia-Zhejiang Higher Vocational Education Consortium, a member institute of the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics, and a deputy director institute of the Skillman (Asia-Pacific region).

Actively promoting employment and entrepreneurship. By adhering to the work philosophy of “happy study, satisfactory employment, and entrepreneurial spirit”, the institute continues to explore and construct an entrepreneurial education model of “three-class linkage, three-stage progression, and three-level guarantee”. The employment rate of graduates remains above 97%, with a total contribution of nearly 90,000 high-quality technical talents and skilled workers to society. For its outstanding achievements, it has been awarded the National Model Institute for Graduate Employment, and selected as a member unit of the first National TVET Commission under the Ministry of Education, and recognized as an employment training base for vocational college graduates under the Hongzhi Navigation Assistance Program of the Ministry of Education. It has also been identified as Zhejiang Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation Demonstration Base, Maker Space in Zhejiang Province, and Startup Incubator in Hangzhou City.

Attaching importance to fostering campus culture. The institute has always adhered to the school motto of “Having great moral integrity and emphasizing business” and the talent cultivation concept of “Emphasizing both morality and ability, and integrating business and learning”, and laid much stress on “Promoting the spirit of Zhejiang merchants and practicing moral integrity”. Guided by those principles, the institute strives to create a campus culture system that integrates red culture, Zhejiang merchants’ culture, supply and marketing culture, traditional culture, and professional culture to enhance the school’s educational soft power. To this aim, the institute has set up a Zhejiang Merchants Culture Research Institute, and its Zhejiang Merchants Culture campus culture project is recognized as a Brand Campus Culture of Zhejiang Provincial Universities, and has been selected for the list of “One School, One Brand” in building campus culture among vocational colleges nationwide. It has been also recognized as a typical college and a key supported college for Three All-round Education in provincial vocational education. Furthermore, the Target Navigation Project has been recognized as a Provincial Cultural Education Demonstration Carrier for Universities. Additionally, the institute is home to the Provincial Labor Practice Base for Primary and Secondary Schools, the Provincial Social Science Popularization Base for Labor Competence, the nation’s first batch of research centers for labor education, the National Sports Demonstration Base for “One School, One Brand”, the National Traditional Skill Inheritance Base in Vocational Colleges, the Demonstration Base for Intangible Cultural Heritage Education, and the like.

Strengthening the Party’s leadership. Adhering to and strengthening the overall leadership of the Party, the institute fully implements the Five Grasp and Five Strengthening party building quality improvement project. In recent years, the institute has been honored 2 national model branches for Party building, 4 provincial benchmark school faculties for Party building, 4 model branches, 2 leading Party branches in provincial-level authorities, 1 provincial university's double-leader teams of teachers’ Party branch, and 1 provincial ideological and political master workshop. For its outstanding performance, it has been selected into the national university double-leader teacher party branch Powerful Country special action team, the second batch of provincial universities’ exemplary party-mass service centers cultivation institutes, and a provincial curriculum ideological and political teaching research demonstration center. It has received more than 50 honors at the provincial and ministerial levels such as Two Excellent and One Advanced, more than 10 honors at the provincial and ministerial-level micro-party class competitions, as well as a nomination award for being the favorite secretary among teachers and students in the provincial universities.

The institute will continue to make new achievements to embrace the new era. Under the guidance of President XI’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, ZJIET will fully implement its fundamental mission of cultivating virtuous children, seize the new opportunities presented by high-quality development of vocational education, strive to build itself into a high-level vocational college that has Chinese characteristics, leads domestically and is known internationally and contribute ZJIET’s strength to building Zhejiang into a pioneer that is capable of writing a new chapter and to advancing Chinese modernization.