BEIJING — China announced on Dec 9 that it will hold its first Vocational Skills Competition from Dec 10 to 13 in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province.

The competition will see 2,557 contestants from 36 teams nationwide compete in 86 skills.

Among these skills, 63 are part of the 46th WorldSkills Competition, and competitors will compete for places to represent China in the international competition.

The competition covers the country's 14 major industries, including manufacturing, information technology, transportation, and architecture, representing 70 percent of China's industrial sectors, said Zhang Lixin, an official with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

"All the competition events will serve the country's real economy, and more than half of them belong to the modern service industry," Zhang said.

He said that the competition is designed to stimulate the enthusiasm of the majority of workers to improve their skills and guide the whole society to pay attention to skills, respect labor, and carry forward the spirit of work and the pursuit of craftsmanship.

China will host the 46th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai in 2021. The WorldSkills Competition, known as the "Olympics" for vocational skills, takes place every two years. China topped the gold medal tally with 16 gold medals at the 45th WorldSkills Competition.