Chinese language to be taught in Saudi schools, varsities

RIYADH: In an effort to enhance friendship and cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China, the Gulf kingdom will include Chinese as an optional third language taught in schools and universities.

This is a direct outgrowth of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s visit to Beijing last February, where he signed a number of agreements and memoranda of understanding in the fields of energy, investment, transport and technology, all of which are expected to bring bilateral relations to a new height, reported foreign media. China will reportedly fund part of the language programme, which is expected to open the door for Saudi citizens to an estimated 50,000 jobs. Suliman al-Ogaily, a member of the board of directors of the Saudi Society for Political Science, told The Media Line that the move was part of a new policy of openness in support of Saudi Vision 2030, a plan aimed at diversifying sources of national income and restructuring the economy away from oil.

“It is a decision aimed at promoting cultural diversity and expanding educational concepts to reach a level of interaction with the Chinese economic power that goes beyond imports and exports, to joint investments and Chinese tourism –which appears to be one of the most important sources of tourism,” Ogaily said. He noted that trade between the countries reached about $60 billion in 2018, an increase of close to a third over the previous year.