Youth from the Middle East keen to pursue education in China to boost job prospects
China’s investments in the region are leading to a surge in interest
Chinese investments in the Middle East and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are generating a new interest among the youth from the region to learn Mandarin and pursue an education in China so as to become more competitive in the job market.
Nowadays, it is common for citizens of Middle Eastern countries to go to China to pursue short- or long-term education, as the BRI has strengthened personnel exchanges, reported Xinhua press agency.
According to the Chinese Embassy in Jordan, in 2017, about 305 Jordanians availed training
opportunities in China, a yearon-year increase of about 23 per cent.
Oman was one of the starting points for Middle Eastern merchant ships bound for China in ancient times. Now, Chinese companies are helping Oman forge a new starting point along the old silk road.
Established by Wanfang Investment Management (Ningxia), the China-Oman Industrial Park in Duqm covers an area of about 12sq km. It is considered the largest industrial park investment by a country in Oman and also the largest Chinese investment in the Arab world.
Ali Shah, chairman of Oman Wanfang, the main developer of the China-Oman Industrial Park, said that in cooperation with the Omani government, a group of high school graduates is selected every year and sent to study in China with funding from the park. They are planning to train 1,000 students for Oman in the next eight to ten years.
In June, the first batch of 39 Omani students returned to Oman after completing vocational training at Ningxia Polytechnic. They will finish their internships during the rest of the semester, and then work for the industrial park, reported Xinhua.
Hamideh Fard, an Iranian born and raised in Kuwait, decided to study in China in August 2011 when she turned 18.
She knew little about China at first, but completed her studies at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. She also persuaded her brother to attend college in China.
After studying in China, Hamideh returned to her parents in Kuwait in January this year. She landed a job in less than 20 days because of her Chinese language skills. She chose China’s Huawei, a global provider of information and communications technology infrastructure and smart devices, where she works as a product delivery coordinator in charge of promoting business with local distributors.
While bringing development opportunities to more people in the Middle East, the BRI also provides an opportunity for them to know and understand China. Hamideh said that her work gives her the opportunity to introduce not only Chinese products, but the Chinese culture and concepts to local people, which makes her an ‘unofficial ambassador’.
In the Middle East, the BRI has also sparked ‘Chinese fever’ and ‘China fever’ in some campuses. Ahmed Foda, a Chinese language major at Ain Shams University in Egypt, was involved in the trend which changed his life.
The 23 year old has a Chinese name - Dawei. Since learning Chinese, he has travelled to China. Before hosting a TV programme in Tianjin for three months, he taught high school students English as a volunteer.
In August 2016, Dawei was the global runner-up and African regional champion in the final round of ‘Chinese Bridge’, a Chinese proficiency competition for foreign college students. He has since joined a Chinese firm in Egypt and plans to pursue a Master’s degree in China.
Interest in the Chinese language and culture has grown significantly in the past few years as the BRI is gaining more cooperation partners, stated the report.
This year, more than 300 students applied for the Chinese Department in the Language Faculty of Suez Canal University, Egypt, which planned to enrol only 30 students.