Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Education signed two agreements with the Chinese Ministry of Education to exchange expertise in advanced curricula, scholarships, and sending Saudis to study to China.

The first agreement was for securing seats for Saudi students at top Chinese universities, expanding the scholarship programs, and increasing the chances of Saudi students being accepted into specialized courses in demand in the local labor market.

Another agreement was signed between the Ministry of Education and the Center for Languages ​​and International Cooperation of the Chinese Ministry of Education to prepare Chinese language curricula by Saudi and Chinese experts, and to issue a comprehensive curriculum for teaching Chinese in public schools starting from the current academic year.

Saudi Arabia and China enjoy strong historical relations dating back decades. These relations have witnessed remarkable development across all fronts, particularly in the economic and commercial spheres.

Both countries are members of several international economic organizations and blocs, such as the World Trade Organization and the G20. Saudi Arabia was also a founding member, along with China, of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which contributes to promoting economic development and improving infrastructure connectivity in Asia and beyond.

Cooperation in the field of education between Saudi Arabia and China is witnessing remarkable growth within the framework of the interest of the leaderships of both countries in teaching the Arabic and Chinese languages ​​and building bridges of linguistic and academic communication.

The Saudi Ministry of Education adopted a new decision to add the Chinese language to some intermediate schools in mid-August 2024. In 2020, Chinese was taught in eight secondary schools in Saudi Arabia, bringing the number of schools that included Chinese in their curriculum to more than 700 by December 2021.