February, 2024
With the post-pandemic resurgence of diplomatic activities, China has been strengthening its education diplomacy. In Central Asia, where China is an established strategic partner, its efforts to widen educational cooperation have been gaining new impetus. In late December 2023, China’s Vice Minister of Education, Sun Yao, visited Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, where they discussed issues related to widening cooperation, including university and research cooperation, the opening of Luban workshops, and the work of Confucius Institutes. In the meantime, MOUs and practical collaboration between Central Asian and Chinese universities, as well as the ensuing academic and research exchange of faculty and students from both sides, have become more common. Uzbekistan and China are preparing to host the Forum of University Rectors in 2024; educational fairs in Central Asia with Chinese universities have been held throughout the year. The intensification of exchanges in education demonstrates that Chinese and Central Asian authorities are increasingly focusing on the education sector.
China’s growing political and economic ambitions have stimulated its desire to internationalize Chinese education. Since 2015, China has adopted its recommendations on opening up education to the outside world in a new era to disseminate its international cooperation and exchange network, with the ultimate goal of becoming a global leader by 2050. The initial recommendations from 2015 consisted of two major approaches: strengthening the capabilities of international collaboration within its BRI approaches and given the educational demands of various locations, providing a new alternative concentrating on the local characteristics and adapting to them. It was further enlarged in February 2019, when the Chinese government adopted its policy “Modernising Education in China to 2035,” where it proposed ten major strategic objectives for the future of education, including the creation of overseas international branches with Chinese characteristics. Specifically, the document defined three possible formats for opening overseas Chinese branches: gradually turning the existing Confucius Institutes into Chinese international branches; opening new Chinese university branches by transforming already-registered institutions; and promoting Chinese universities to open their autonomous universities in countries recommended by the Ministry of Education. Since 2021, the Chinese Ministry has started to promote the pilot construction of overseas Chinese institutions (Chuanya and Yun, 2022).
In parallel, within China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), higher education, science, and technology are considered among the key sectors of the initiative. Since the adoption of the 2016 “Education Action Plan for the Belt and Road Initiative,” China intends to improve educational interconnectivity and deepen collaboration on talent development and training in order to increase the overall leverage of education, which in turn supports the larger political and economic objectives of the BRI (Belt and Road Portal, 2016). In 2017, the Chinese president launched “the Belt and Road Science, Technology, and Innovation Cooperation Action Plan” with the Science and Technology People-to-People Exchange Initiative, the Joint Laboratory Initiative, the Science Park Cooperation Initiative, and the Technology Transfer Initiatives. Collectively, these plans have been called the “Educational Silk Road,” although this term was not sustained (d’Hooghe, 2021).
In Central Asia, post-pandemic China has strengthened education on the agenda of bilateral cooperation. Under the larger matrix of its BRI and beyond, China has stepped up its involvement in the education sector through the advancement of the presence of Chinese universities and joint education programmes, the creation of Luban workshops, an increase in the number of scholarships, and the widening of the activities of the Confucius Institutes.
In particular, China had intensified its interest in enhancing its networks with Central Asian universities and creating Chinese university model branches. Prior to the pandemic, China was interested in developing its international education with the leading education markets in order to quickly increase its international ranking, for which the universities of the US, Europe, other Western countries, and Russia were best suited (Chuanya and Yun, 2022). Negotiations at that time with Central Asian universities did not result in the realization of agreed-upon plans. As an example, agreements with Uzbek colleagues on opening branches of Nanjing Polytechnic Institute (2019), Sichuan University (2020), and Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2020) did not have visible implications. Similarly, in 2017, the Tajik authorities announced plans for the opening of a Chinese international university in Tajikistan, yet without further developments (Ozodi, 2017).
In the meantime, from the recent developments, one could see evidence of the shift in China’s Central Asian education approach. In particular, the branch of Northwestern Polytechnical University was opened lately at Al Farabi Kazakh National University; the City University of Hong Kong is going to open its branch at Satbayev University in Almaty (Al Farabi University, 2023; Satbayev University, 2023). Under the BRI, at Jusup Balasagyn Kyrgyz National University, the Silk Road Institute was established by the joint efforts of Kyrgyz National University and Henan University (Kabar, 2021). In Uzbekistan, the Silk Road International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage opened the China-Uzbekistan Belt and Road International Laboratory, a joint scientific and archaeological laboratory for the technological preservation of cultural assets (Xiaoyi and Yunyi, 2023). The Uzbek side is also interested in opening branches of leading Chinese universities, such as Tsinghua and Peking University, as proposed even by President Mirziyoyev, but the Chinese are leaning in a different direction. Given the Uzbek mathematical school’s considerable influence in the global scientific community, Chinese counterparts instead suggested establishing an Uzbek Chinese international Central Asian mathematical center (Sputnik, 2024; Novikova, 2023).
Here, it should be clarified that China’s track towards internationalization of its higher education has an evolving trend where China prioritizes developed nations with large market demands. Even though China has been establishing university branches overseas since the 1970s, by 2014, there were just three Chinese university branches worldwide (Chuanya and Yun, 2022). Therefore, the steps taken in Central Asia with the actual opening of university branches, along with ongoing intentions to open more, signify China’s intention to widen the scope of its education diplomacy in the region, which also implies strengthening its soft power instruments.
An intention to promote Chinese education is also seen in the international fairs for Chinese education held at major Central Asian universities. Chinese universities present their institutions at the education fairs for Chinese education in Almaty, Bishkek, Tashkent, and Dushanbe. The first forum of Tajikistan and China on technical education was held in Dushanbe (2023); a group of scientists visited Ashgabat recently to promote cooperation with China (2024); and the Forum of Uzbekistan and China University Rectors is going to be held.
In addition to bilateral collaboration between Chinese and Central Asian universities, the University Alliance of the Silk Road was established in 2015 on the basis of Xian Jiaotong University to promote BRI goals. So far, seven universities from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and two universities from Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have joined the alliance to foster regional collaboration in education and research.
Another classical instrument of promotion is language courses and degree studies, which are also an important pillar of Chinese outbound strategy. China’s policy of disseminating Chinese languages has been developing within its Confucius Institutes, university partners, and fellowship programmes. At present, there are 13 Confucius Institutes in Central Asia: five in Kazakhstan, four in Kyrgyzstan, and two each in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, as well as 24 Confucius classrooms. The importance paid to these institutions could be demonstrated in the case of the opening of the new building of the Confucius Institute at Tajik National University in 2022, when the Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Minister of Education of Tajikistan attended the ceremony (Rashidov et. al., 2023). With the opening of borders after the pandemic, during the high-level meetings in every Central Asian state, Chinese authorities emphasized a significant boost in Chinese government scholarships for Central Asian students to apply for degree studies and short-term fellowships, as well as an increase in the number of places within the International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship. Consequently, Confucius Institutes, which, besides their Confucius Institute Scholarship, coordinate the International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship, intensified their activities in sending students and teachers to China, especially within the short-term programmes.
As part of the BRI, a new direction of Chinese education diplomacy is developing with the Luban Workshops. Named after the well-known ancient Chinese master artisan Lu Ban, it is a Chinese vocational workshop programme that, by combining academic education with practical training, assists in developing the professional technical talent of citizens of BRI countries. Tianjin Municipality introduced it under the guidance of the Chinese Ministry of Education in 2016. The main difference of the Luban Workshops is that Chinese teachers train local teachers without directly instructing students. The creators of the Luban workshop believe that by sharing their experience with the local instructors and supporting them with high-standard instructional materials, technical standards, and experimental equipment, the workshops will contribute to effectively integrating their approaches into the local academic system as well as nurturing technical and skilled personnel for the most-demanded industries (Xiaoyi and Yunyi, 2023). With such an aim, the first Central Asian Luban workshop was inaugurated in Tajikistan in November 2022. In partnership with Tianjin Urban Construction Management and Vocation Technology College, two faculties of the Tajik Technical University in Dushanbe collaborate on training students majoring in thermal energy application technologies and engineering surveying technologies (People’s Daily Online, 2023). Another Luban workshop was opened at Serikbayev East Kazakhstan Technical University in Oskemen in December 2023, together with the Tianjin Vocational Institute. It will operate within the “Transport, Transport Equipment, and Technology” educational programme using the teaching method of the Engineering Practice Innovation Project and advanced Chinese equipment (Gov.kz, 2023). Similar plans to open workshops have been agreed upon with the Turkmen International Oil and Gas University, Kyrgyz State Polytechnic University, and Tashkent State Transport University.
Hence, Chinese activities in promoting its education diplomacy in Central Asia are flourishing. Given the frequency of the negotiations between Chinese and Central Asian education administrations, along with the intensification of staff mobility and exchange, the ongoing collaboration will lead to sustaining Chinese representation in the Central Asian educational landscape.
Central Asian universities are undergoing another transition towards internationalization of their higher education. Their engagement with Chinese universities at large is driven by two factors: on the one hand, the majority of Central Asian universities already have established their core international partners’ networks, therefore, collaboration with Chinese universities allows them to diversify their partnership network.
On the other hand, most Central Asian states are undergoing another wave of internationalization in their higher education. In particular, Kazakhstan’s government has been working on strengthening the competitiveness of local universities by opening branches of leading international universities in major and regional cities, as per the president’s suggestion. In Uzbekistan, among the strategic directions of its reforms is the attraction of foreign universities to their country in order to teach students at home rather than sending them abroad. As a result, in virtue of the mushrooming of new international universities, Uzbekistan now has 30 branches of foreign universities. Kyrgyzstan, despite not specifying its new transition towards internationalization, is very active in the international education space, it has international universities supported by the US and Western organizations. Tajikistan, meanwhile, while attempting to collaborate with international universities, still agrees with the fact that Russian educational programmes and academic opportunities are more attractive than those of other foreign countries (Rashidov et. al., 2023). While Turkmenistan is gradually evolving its international education cooperation, it remains conservative in its approaches.
Therefore, the reactivation of China’s education diplomacy coincided with the general trend of the new internationalization wave at Central Asian universities. Yet China’s share is still peripheral in the profile of the Central Asian higher education network. Therefore, the intensification of China’s education diplomacy is a timely and effective instrument for spreading the Chinese influence, but to sustain and ramify education with Chinese characteristics, Chinese educators need to work more on deepening their engagement in the education sector of the region, as well as financially supporting research and education initiatives. For Central Asian citizens, enhancing Chinese representation in the Central Asian education system will allow for diversifying their international partnership networks and adding new opportunities in its education and science development.
References:
Al Farabi Kazakh National University (2023). A branch of Northwestern Polytechnical University of China Opened in KazNU. Retrieved from https://farabi.university/news/82725?lang=ru. Accessed on 28.01.2024.
Belt and Road Portal (2016). Education Action Plan for the Belt and Road Initiative. Retrieved from https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/p/30277.html. Accessed on 24.01.2024.
Chuanya, Ju and Yun, Sergey (2022). The policy of higher education internationalization in China and the development of educational cooperation between China and Uzbekistan. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta – Tomsk State University Journal. № 482. 113–124.
d’Hooghe, Ingrid (2021). China’s BRI and International Cooperation in Higher Education and Research. A Symbiotic Relationship. In Global Perspectives on China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Asserting Agency through Regional Connectivity. Schneider, Florian (ed.). Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press.
Gov.kz (2023). A unique “Lu Ban Workshop” has opened in the east of the country. Retrieved from https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/sci/press/news/details/668271?lang=ru. Accessed on 31.01.2024.
Kabar (2021). Silk Road Institute opened in Bishkek. Retrieved from https://en.kabar.kg/news/silk-road-institute-opened-in-bishkek/ . Accessed on 31.01.2024.
Novikova, Anastasia (2023). Opening branches of Chinese universities and other initiatives. Meeting of the leaders of Uzbekistan and China. Retrieved from https://plov.press/news/politika/otkrytie_filialov_vuzov_knr_i_drugie_initsiativy_vstrecha_rukovoditeley_uzbekistana_i_kitaya/. Accessed on 31.01.2024.
Ozodi (2017). China proposes to build an international university in Tajikistan. Retrieved from https://rus.ozodi.org/a/28796140.html . Accessed on 31.01.2024.
People’s Daily Online (2023). First Luban Workshop in Central Asia becomes a new ‘calling card’ of China’s vocational education. Retrieved from http://en.people.cn/n3/2023/0518/c90000-20020183.html#:~:text=Co%2Dfounded%20by%20China’s%20Tianjin,teachers%20and%20students%20so%20far. Accessed on 31.01.2024.
Rashidov, Tuychi, Mullojonov, Parviz, Rashidova Umayra and Lemon, Edward (2023). Academic Diplomacy: The Educational Aspects of Chinese and Russian Soft Power in Tajikistan. Nationalities Papers. Published online, 1-15.
Satbayev University (2023). Satbayev University and City University of Hong Kong have signed an agreement on creating the innovative strategic partnership. Retrieved from https://satbayev.university/en/news/satbayev-university-and-city-university-of-hong-kong-have-signed-an-agreement-on-creating-the-innovative-strategic-partnership. Accessed on 28.01.2024.
Sputnik (2024). China proposed to Uzbekistan to jointly open an international mathematical center. Retrieved from https://uz.sputniknews.ru/20240122/uzbekistan-kitay-matematika-sentr-42148729.html . Accessed on 31.01.2024.
Xiaoyi, Lin and Yunyi, Bai (2023). From Luban Workshop to ‘Silk Road’ University, China trains professional personnel for Central Asia. Retrieved from https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202309/1297787.shtml. Accessed on 31.01.2024.
Note: The views expressed in this blog are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the Institute’s editorial policy.