Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has implemented the Chinese language in the curriculum at all stages of education in Saudi schools and universities.
As part of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s new vision for the education sector in Saudi Arabia, vision 2030, the ministry of education included Mandarin Chinese from this academic year 2021-2022.
The agreement was finalised during the Saudi crown prince’s visit to Beijing in February 2019, between the two countries to enhance bilateral relationship and cooperation.
Several initiatives have been launched with different organisations in the education and training sectors to introduce the language to the public.
After Arabic, English serves as the second language and Chinese serves as an optional third language in the Kingdom.
It is reported that companies prefer to hire people who speak more than one language, so the University of Jeddah has made it mandatory for preparatory year students, hoping that the students will benefit from the additional education.
Commenting on the introduction of the Chinese language in the Kingdom, Arab News quoted China’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Chen Weiqing, saying “Through the gradual popularization of the Chinese language in Saudi education, it will further strengthen mutual understanding and friendship between the two people.”