Race for medals heats up on last day of 47th WorldSkills Competition

At the final day of the 47th WorldSkills Competition in the French city of Lyon, the race for medals heated up, with participants from roughly 70 nations showing their mettle.

Formerly known as the International Vocational Training Organization, WorldSkills is an international charity, which organizes national championships for vocational skills. Every two years, the organization hosts a competition, attracting competitors from around the world.

This year's competition ran from Wednesday to Saturday, with the closing ceremony on Sunday. The event brought together approximately 1,400 participants from nearly 70 countries and regions to compete in 59 skill categories spanning vocations ranging from artwork to welding.

China sent 68 participants to participated in 59 different disciplines.

Teams say it is a collaborative environment, but winning gold can help make their professional career's sparkle.

"I think it's for their career, for the whole of their life. And then they can join this field and they can have a very good start of their journey, their life," said Zou Ningxin, a jewelry expert of Team China.

Medals may be up for the grabs but the goal of the biannual Workskills Expo is also for crowds here to draw inspiration.

This event is designed to give people a little taste of different parts of the working world and what ingredients are needed to be successful in a chosen career.

The expo also gives delegations the opportunity to learn from one another.

"They're able to come here and see how they match up against other countries. It's a benchmarking system as well as an individual assessment of the competitors who are representing their nation," said Shawna Bourke, director of Marketing and Communications of the WorldSkills International.

This biannual event is seen as an opportunity to try and address shared problems like water pollution.

"Urban water sewage treatment and industrial water reuse are the fundamental ways to solve this problem. So water technology is very important today," said Wang Zhan, water technology expert of Team China.

Several days of tough competition culminates in a medal ceremony. And the hope is that these competitors will inspire a new generation of skilled workers to come out of the woodwork.

Shanghai is scheduled to play host to the competition's 48th edition in September 2026.

Race for medals heats up on last day of 47th WorldSkills Competition

Italy does not want an escalation of trade frictions between the European Union and China, which will harm the interests of all parties involved, Italian Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, said on Monday during a meeting with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao in Rome. The two ministers exchanged views on the EU's anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), and explored cooperation opportunities between Chinese and Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Wang said China-Italy cooperation in the auto industry enjoys a solid foundation and has huge potential. China is willing to promote mutual investment in the sector to achieve mutual benefits and win-win results. However, he raised concerns that the EU's investigation into China's EVs has seriously affected the confidence of Chinese car companies to invest in Italy, which is not in Italy's long-term interest.

Urso emphasized Italy's unique advantages in research and development, design, and vehicle manufacturing, and welcomed investment from Chinese auto companies. He said that Italy does not want to see the escalation of trade frictions between the EU and China, which will harm the interests of all parties. He hopes that both sides will properly resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation.

Wang is currently visiting Europe to discuss the EU's trade policy regarding tariffs on Chinese EVs. He will meet with European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis on Thursday.

Italian Minister warns China-EU trade frictions harm all parties