Beijing, December 28 (Xinhua) — “Chinese fever” accelerates cultural exchanges between China and Arab countries in 2024
In Sudan in 2024, armed conflicts continue, but the pervasive smoke of gunpowder has not stopped the enthusiasm of young people to learn Chinese.
A group of Sudanese Chinese teachers spontaneously established a Chinese language training center in the city of Atbara, about 460 kilometers north of the capital Khartoum. We hope to let Sudanese society understand Chinese culture and help those who are interested in Chinese, “Atif Hassan, the head of the training center, told Xinhua News Agency reporters.
Although the preparation was rushed and the conditions were rudimentary, what Hassan did not expect was that the training center was greatly welcomed. According to him, the center has now enrolled more than 110 students, of which about 60% are refugees from war-torn areas in Sudan. In response to this situation, the center has significantly reduced education and training fees.
Hassan said that the reason why so many Sudanese people are enthusiastic about learning Chinese is because China’s economic, technological, and cultural influence is constantly increasing, and China’s importance is increasingly recognized on the global stage, especially in southern countries around the world.
The Sudan Atbara Chinese Language Training Center is just a microcosm of the “Chinese fever” in the Arab world. In May 2024, at the 10th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China Arab Cooperation held in Beijing, China proposed to build a “five major cooperation patterns” with the Arab side, including a broader cultural exchange pattern, to accelerate the construction of a China Arab community with a shared future.
From the Gulf to North Africa, from middle school to university, from students to the general public, the ‘Chinese fever’ has become the golden label for cultural and humanistic cooperation between China and Arab countries within the framework of global southern cooperation.
Chinese fever spreads throughout the Middle East
On the minibus from her home on Pyramid Street to the campus of Cairo University, Egyptian girl Naira Sunukhi either buried her head in reciting Chinese textbooks or hummed Chinese songs softly while wearing headphones every day. The passengers on the same bus always looked at her curiously.
Naira is 21 years old and a senior student in the Chinese Department of the Faculty of Literature at Cairo University. Influenced by her father Tariq Sunukiy, a renowned expert on Chinese affairs in Egypt, Naira chose Chinese as her major without hesitation three years ago.
Cairo University established the Confucius Institute in 2007 and currently has approximately 4000 registered students annually. Compared to the initial establishment of the college with less than 30 students, “this is indeed a significant growth,” said Rehab Mahmoud, the head of the Chinese Department at Cairo University and the Egyptian dean of the Confucius Institute.
Currently, Egypt offers Chinese majors or courses in 28 universities in major cities across the country, as well as 4 Confucius Institutes and 2 Confucius Classrooms.
Naira said that at first, she found Chinese very difficult to learn, and even couldn’t open her mouth in the first year. However, I later discovered that the key to learning Chinese well is to love this language and the culture it carries
After three years of learning and training, the level of translation between China and Arab countries in Nayla has improved rapidly, and it has been possible to understand Chinese people’s speech effortlessly. Usually, she works part-time translating Chinese books while attending school.
In September 2020, China and Egypt signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Including Chinese as an Elective Second Foreign Language in Egyptian Primary and Secondary Schools. Two years later, the first batch of 12 public high schools launched pilot programs for Chinese education. In October 2023, the second batch of 10 public high schools will launch a pilot program for Chinese education. As a result, Chinese has fully entered the Egyptian national education system, achieving a talent cultivation system that connects primary and secondary schools to doctoral studies.
Naira saw infinite opportunities in it. She said, “I plan to start a Chinese language training institution after graduation
In Tunisia, which is also located in North Africa, since the establishment of the Confucius Institute at the University of Carthage in 2019, more than 2000 Tunisian students have studied Chinese here, and the overall number is on the rise.
In the Gulf region, the United Arab Emirates has 171 schools offering Chinese language courses, with 71000 students learning Chinese, and Chinese language teaching is thriving; Chinese language teaching in Saudi Arabia has covered all levels of education, from primary and secondary schools to higher education. China will also send the first batch of 175 Chinese language teachers to Saudi Arabia in 2024
Currently, 4 out of 22 Arab countries have incorporated Chinese into their national education system or established Chinese language departments, and 13 countries have 20 Confucius Institutes and 2 independent Confucius Classrooms.
Chinese fever deepens understanding of China
As more and more Arab youth master Chinese, in 2024, Zhihua Youhua’s “Arab Internet celebrity” will become more active on network platforms such as Tiktok, Xiaohongshu, and Station B.
Mohammed Jihad is one of them. After graduating from the Broadcasting and Hosting Arts program at the Communication University of China in 2019, Jihad chose to stay in China for development. Now, this Egyptian young man is engaged in foreign communication work at the China Foreign Languages Bureau and is also an expert in the Cultural Exchange Department of the China Investment Association. Making videos is also a part of my job, “he said.
Since the beginning of the year, Gihad has released 64 works on the Tiktok platform. In the video, he either dressed up as an Egyptian pharaoh to introduce the ancient civilization of Egypt, or used Mandarin to “dub for China” with a round and precise tone, receiving a large number of “likes” from netizens.
Jihad has a profound understanding of learning Chinese. He said: “Chinese is one of the most difficult languages in the world, but it is very beautiful. As Lu Xun said, ‘Chinese sounds beautiful to the ear, shapes beautiful to the eye, and beautiful meaning beautiful to the heart.'” Therefore, he registered a personal account on Facebook platform to teach Chinese.
Jihad believes that Chinese is not only beautiful, but also the ‘language of the future’. More and more Arabs realize that understanding Chinese means opening the door to learning about China and Chinese culture, discovering more opportunities, and establishing long-term cooperation with China
It is precisely with his excellent language proficiency and lively outgoing personality that Jihad lived an exceptionally fulfilling life from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Egypt. I have been busy almost every day throughout the year, coordinating with various projects and activities, “Jihad told reporters.” I think this is a very good start, and there will be more and more exchanges and interactions between China and Egypt, as well as between China and Arab countries, in the coming year
Unlike Jihad who rooted herself in China, Dina returned to her homeland Morocco after graduating from Beijing Language and Culture University. But similarly, Dina also chose to introduce Chinese culture as the driving force for her personal entrepreneurship. She posts videos of herself singing Chinese songs on social media platforms and often has hit hits.
In the ancient streets and squares of Morocco, Dina passionately sang Chinese songs, attracting many people to stop and listen. She said that although the locals cannot understand Chinese, they can feel the inherent charm of the song. Some young Moroccans told her that they also hope to study in China. She believes that this is the right choice, and she has witnessed firsthand how well China has developed. She is proud to be able to influence the younger generation in Morocco.
Two years ago, Dina told Xinhua News Agency reporters that she dreamed of returning to China as soon as possible. She visited China twice this year. She said, “If we can have more understanding of each other, then the hearts of Arab countries and Chinese people will be more connected
Chinese fever promotes people to people communication
Looking back at 2024, bilateral cultural exchanges between China and Arab countries have continued to deepen, and cultural interactions have become even closer.
There are various forms of competition activities. Chinese language learners from Arab countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Jordan, and Iraq actively participated in the 23rd “Chinese Bridge” World University Chinese Language Competition. Yasmin Hamid, a senior student in the Chinese Department of Cairo University, won the intercontinental championship in the global finals. In addition to the “Chinese Bridge”, Egypt also held the first Idiom Conference on “Learning Idioms, Understanding China” this year, attracting more than 200 Chinese language students and enthusiasts from universities to participate. At the end of the year, the China Arab Poetry Society was successfully held at the Forbidden City in Beijing. Many Arab poets and Chinese poets formed friendships through poetry recitation, expressing their pursuit of common values such as peace and friendship.
The exhibition performances were colorful and varied. This summer, 788 cultural relics from Egypt were unveiled at the Shanghai Museum, including some treasures that have made their debut outside of Egypt. The exhibition has sparked great enthusiasm among Chinese audiences, to the point where tickets are difficult to obtain. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United Arab Emirates, Oriental Performing Arts Group and the Chinese Symphony Orchestra launched the “Millennium One Song” Chinese style concert and special concert in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, at the end of the year. At the beginning of the year, the Central Ballet Company also performed the Chinese New Year ballet “New Year” in the United Arab Emirates, allowing local audiences to appreciate the charm of combining Chinese and foreign art.
Personnel are constantly coming and going. Thanks to the increasing frequency of bilateral exchanges and the visa free or visa on arrival policy for many Arab countries in recent years, the number of Chinese tourists traveling to Arab countries has significantly increased this year. Many Arab airlines have added direct routes or increased flight capacity. Starting from July 14th, EgyptAir will increase its flights from Cairo to Shanghai to four times a week. In addition, it plans to list Xiamen as a direct destination on the existing Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou routes. In October of this year, Saudi Airlines launched the Jeddah Dammam Beijing route. Moroccan Airlines recently announced that it will resume direct flights from Casablanca to Beijing starting from January 20, 2025.
Professor Fu Zhiming, Vice Dean of the School of Foreign Languages at Peking University, pointed out that friendly exchanges between China and Arab countries have fueled the “Chinese fever” and paved the way for people to people communication. At present, as Arab countries increasingly attach importance to strengthening comprehensive relations with developing countries, including China, the “Chinese fever” is actually a reflection of the thriving global cooperation in the South.
With the close interaction, Chinese is no longer just a language, but has become a way to enhance the sense of closeness and belonging between the Chinese and Arab peoples, “said Isla Mahajub, a student at the Sudan Atbara Chinese Language Training Center.