The Saudi Arabian government plans to expand Chinese language education in public schools. A target of teaching Chinese language to 1 lakh 2 thousand students by the end of next year has been set.
The expansion reflects Saudi Arabia's interest in developing cultural and economic ties, Saudi news portal Sabak reported.
Under an agreement last year, 175 Chinese language teachers from the first batch are now teaching in schools in Saudi Arabia.
This year, the Saudi Ministry of Education announced the introduction of Chinese in secondary schools in certain regions as the first step in a related program.
According to the ministry, Riyadh, Yanbu, Eastern Province, Jeddah, Jazan and Tabu will teach Chinese alongside Arabic and English under a government-approved decision in 2023 to teach the language.
The ministry also said that an introductory meeting was organized for the first batch of Chinese teachers after their arrival in Saudi Arabia.
These teachers completed pre-service training at Tianjin Normal University. The training is organized jointly with the university by the Language Education and Cooperation Center under the Ministry of Education of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Education of China.
In 2020, Saudi education authorities started teaching Chinese in eight high schools as part of efforts to strengthen ties between China and Saudi Arabia.
That year, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited China. It was during this visit that it was agreed to work on a plan to introduce Chinese into the curriculum of schools and universities in Saudi Arabia.
Following Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Saudi Arabia in late 2022, the government announced plans to expand Chinese language education. During that visit, he met Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Mohammed.
In Riyadh, Xi Jinping said his country will provide unlimited opportunities to teach Chinese in the Gulf countries.
