The 'Silk Road' of foreign students in China
One way to understand the scope of the Belt and Road Initiative is to look at where most students at Chinese universities come from, namely Central Asia, Africa, and South America. For them, the People's Republic is the land of opportunities, but also the cultural backdrop of their daily life. They are unlikely to stay in China but will end up working for Chinese companies in their home countries.
Beijing (AsiaNews) – The Belt and Road Initiative, the great global project undertaken by Xi Jinping's China, is not just about infrastructure. One facet is educational opportunities for young people from a wide range of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, this according to a source who lives in the People's Republic of China speaking to AsiaNews.
China has been projecting itself internationally for some time, in different domains, often referred to as the “New Silk Road”.
From Southeast and Central Asia to Africa and South America, China has been weaving a web of relations drawing in countries, which, even if they are not directly involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, are still subject to China’s use of soft power, which is set to turn the Middle Kingdom into the new cultural and economic centre of gravity.
One way to understand the significance of what is happening is to look at international students, most notably those from Central Asia, Russia, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia, enrolled in Chinese universities, particularly in those cities that, due to history and political expediency, were chosen as the nerve centres of the Belt and Road project.
These people are usually in their early twenties, or even younger, studying Chinese on Chinese government scholarships, and when they graduate, are offered jobs in their homeland to work for companies and organisations involved in the New Silk Road.
For these students, China is the land of opportunities, a chance to make it, a time of redemption, but also the cultural backdrop of their daily life, above all thanks to social media.
The Chinese language is not a barrier for them, because Chinese social media are part of their daily life. If this is especially true for Southeast Asia, it is also a trend spreading like wildfire across Asia.
Most are from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, young men and women, some very ambitious and focused, others more typical teenagers, who can speak up to four languages (their own, English, Chinese, Turkish, and, for some, Russian), all aware of their unique chance.
Some also come from Pakistan, plus a few Afghans, eager for real academic and professional opportunities, which China is eager to offer, in their country of origin rather than in the People's Republic itself.
Learning Chinese and graduating in China are the path for cooperation upon returning home, almost always with a Chinese company. But it is also the way to create a young, international community of cohorts linked to the Chinese language and culture.
Looking at China through these students’ eyes is very interesting and helps to open perspectives on a generation in great movement and change. It also helps to assess the weight of China’s status as world power, the mechanisms by which it is expanding and effective.
These young people in great turmoil find in China a direction and bring to the world another point of view, especially in predominantly Muslim -stans. Chinese Islam, Central Asian Islam, Russian Islam meet and are led down the New Silk Road, players in something that is moving in the world.
RED LANTERNS IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO CHINA. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE IT EVERY THURSDAY? TO SUBSCRIBE, CLICK HERE.
.png)
