Chen hopes he can deliver a high-quality performance at the national competition and be a candidate for the biennial WorldSkills Competition, which has been his dream since he was 15.

Back in 2017, Zhang Zhikun, a gold medalist in CNC milling at the 43rd WorldSkills Competition, gave a lecture at Chen's school, encouraging the vocational students to show their potential and contribute to the country's economic development. That talk planted a seed in Chen's heart.

To perfect his technique on the lathe and overcome technical problems, Chen has stuck to the workshop from early morning until late at night almost every day.