Chinese Language Education in Saudi Arabia

Chinese Language Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a project aimed at integrating the Chinese language into school and university curricula in Saudi Arabia, following the directive of Crown Prince and Prime Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during his visit to China in February 2019.

The inclusion of the Chinese language in various educational stages in Saudi Arabia is driven by the desire to diversify linguistic tools in education and acknowledge the strategic and economic significance of Chinese, given China's global influence. It also aligns with the strengthening relationship between Saudi Arabia and China across cultural, economic, trade, and political domains. Additionally, one of the key features of Saudi Vision 2030 is fostering cultural, economic, and scientific openness to the world. Chinese is among the most widely spoken languages globally, ranking second after English in terms of the number of daily speakers - those who use it as a primary language for communication. Approximately 1.2 billion people worldwide speak Chinese, meaning that one in every six people communicates in the language.

The Ministry of Education has set the strategic objective for Chinese language education to establish it as a third language alongside English, ensuring the same level of widespread adoption in both general and higher education systems.

The Ministry of Education formed a joint working team with the Chinese side to develop a plan for integrating Chinese language education into universities and general education, ensuring a phased implementation and expansion both horizontally and vertically in these two aspects. Additionally, the number of male and female students sent to pursue various academic disciplines at Chinese universities at the higher education level has been expanded.

The Ministry of Education's plan for integrating the Chinese language into Saudi curricula includes establishing a program to train teachers through intensive courses that may last up to one year, preparing them to teach Chinese at the targeted educational levels. This phase begins with selected high schools across various regions of Saudi Arabia, followed by a plan for numerical expansion and then extension to the intermediate level. This process is accompanied by sending teachers to participate in programs being developed in collaboration with the Chinese side for a duration of one year to qualify them as Chinese language instructors. The Ministry of Education established a dedicated unit to develop a strategy for Chinese language education in Saudi schools.

In 2022, the number of Saudi male and female students studying at Chinese universities reached 174, including 131 male and female scholarship students and forty-three self-funded students. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia allocated 477 annual scholarships for Chinese students in Saudi universities. From 2017 to 2022, the number of Chinese male and female students enrolled in government universities in Saudi Arabia reached 688.

Since 2019, the General Administration of Education in Riyadh Province has conducted Chinese language courses through neighborhood clubs, offering two sessions per week for four weeks. These courses were broadcast live from the Ministry of Education's production center, allowing the educational community to follow them.

Additionally, education departments in various provinces and governorates implemented an enrichment program for teaching Chinese in government and private high schools. This program targets male and female second-year high school students enrolled in the academic tracks system. It is delivered in classrooms equipped with audiovisual tools to present ministry-approved Chinese language content. The program aims to develop students' skills, promote self-learning through interactive activities, and encourage early exploration of the Chinese language, allowing them to opt for it as an elective in their third year of high school.

The program offers incentives for students, including counting their participation in mastery enrichment sessions as voluntary work to support their peers' learning in the classroom. Students who successfully and fully complete the program receive volunteer hours, which are recorded as part of cooperative volunteer work and self-learning activities.

Saudi universities have actively engaged in the Chinese language education initiative. King Saud University had taken the lead by introducing Chinese in 2010, well before the official directive to integrate the Chinese language into curricula in 2019, after which it expanded its Chinese language program. Jeddah University signed a cooperation agreement with the Chinese side to establish a Confucius Institute at the university.

Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University signed an agreement with Beijing Language and Culture University to offer a Chinese for Business Diploma, upon completion of which students receive an accredited certificate from Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University as well as a certificate from Beijing Language and Culture University. In 2020, the university introduced a bachelor’s program in the Chinese language. Additionally, the university's Institute for Teaching Arabic to Non-Native Speakers includes Chinese students, some of whom have graduated after developing their Arabic language skills as a second language.

In 2019, the Saudi Electronic University launched Chinese language courses using a blended learning system, combining traditional in-person classes with online learning. The university also offers introductory courses in the Chinese language, taught by Chinese instructors, to help students understand Chinese linguistic structures, read and pronounce characters, learn basic vocabulary and common expressions, and grasp some verbal structures in the language.

In 2021, King Abdulaziz University, in collaboration with Minzu University of China, graduated the first cohort of the Professional Diploma Program in the Chinese Language. This program aims to equip Saudi professionals with linguistic and cultural proficiency in Chinese for professional purposes, enabling students to achieve an advanced level of fluency (HSK4) and enhancing their language skills and knowledge of Chinese culture.

In 2022, the Center for Chinese Science and Culture Exchange at King Abdulaziz University launched a free online Chinese language program in collaboration with the Chinese Proficiency Test Center in Beijing and several Chinese universities. Graduates of the program have the opportunity to receive a scholarship to study at one of these universities.

In 2024, the Institute of Chinese Science and Culture and the Human Capability Development Center at King Abdulaziz University launched Chinese language courses. These courses help beginners who have never studied Chinese before to familiarize themselves with Chinese phonetics, writing characters, learning basic phrases, and engaging in fundamental communication, in addition to providing an overview of Chinese culture. King Abdulaziz University established the Institute of Chinese Science and Culture to contribute to knowledge and technology transfer to Saudi Arabia and to convey Saudi Arabia’s academic and cultural message to Chinese academic and research institutions, benefiting from advancements in academic and scientific research.

In 2023, Prince Sultan University in Riyadh inaugurated a branch of the Confucius Institute for Chinese language education. The institute is a nonprofit organization established by China to promote the Chinese language and culture worldwide.

Also in 2023, the Applied College at Umm al-Qura University signed a professional partnership with Wisdom House for languages in Riyadh to train and qualify students and professionals in Saudi Arabia. This initiative aims to equip them with the necessary Chinese language skills through specialized training programs and applied diplomas in Chinese language education.