Chinese experts to promote Arabic
Chinese universities, along with Chinese Ambassador Li Chengwen, were among those present.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Abdullah Al- Washmi said that KAICAL offers a variety of programs for promoting Arabic as an international language around the world, including in China — a country with strong ties to the Kingdom.
He said that China has been promoting the Arabic language and has a large number of Chinese teachers with a good knowledge of Arabic. There are also a large number of colleges specialized in teaching the Arabic language in science departments, with thousands of students taking the course.
Dr. Al- Washmi observed that the presence of more than 23 researchers from all over China at the recent forum reflects the importance the country attaches to the value of the Arabic language.
In addition to this observation, some Chinese universities even observe an Arabic language month, along with various other events including Arabic language and art competitions, exhibitions of Arabic calligraphy and training sessions in Arabic.
There are also many Arabicspeaking Chinese representa- tives in the Chinese Embassy in the Kingdom.
The collective deans of Arabic language colleges and institutes of education also held their third consultative meeting on the sidelines of the forum. The aim of the meeting was to discuss issues pertaining to language education in China, and challenges within language institutions in Saudi Arabia.
The Chinese academic guests will also engage in seminars in Arabic language departments at Umm Al Qura University, King Abdul Aziz University and the University of Taif as part of their visit.