Thongloun Sisoulith, general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and president of Laos, visited the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (National Academy of Governance) on Thursday afternoon.
Paying a five-day state visit to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Thongloun arrived in Beijing on Thursday after concluding the first leg of his trip in east China's Zhejiang Province.
The visit to the Party School, where he previously studied for a month back in 2000, was the first stop on Thongloun's Beijing itinerary.
During the visit, he returned to his old dormitory, posed for a group photo with his daughter and delegation members, and greeted his former teachers and faculty staff, shaking hands with them and recalled the days on campus.
The Party School of the CPC Central Committee is the highest institution of learning of the CPC and a key platform for international exchange and cooperation on governance. More than 30 Lao trainees are currently enrolled at the school.
"The purpose of this trip is to learn from China's experience in many areas, especially in political theory and development experience such as poverty alleviation and rural revitalization," said Sisouphanh Keobandavong, a Lao trainee and director general of the Department of Inspection under the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Thongloun shared his own experience and thoughts of those days studying at the school, noting that China's governance experience offers important lessons for Laos, and also encouraged the Lao trainees to avail themselves of what they've learned here and make major contributions at their respective posts.
He noted that the exchanges at the Party School embodies the mutual trust and shared vision, adding that he believes exchanges and cooperation between the Party schools of the two sides will grow even closer.
Laos, he said, is ready to continue sending government officials to the Party School and learn from their Chinese counterparts.
As 2026 marks the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Laos and China and the China-Laos Friendship Year, Thongloun voiced hope that his visit would further strengthen bilateral friendship and help the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership yield more fruitful results.
Lao president visits school he attended 26 years ago
