A total of 175 Chinese language teachers are set to begin their roles in Saudi Arabian primary and middle schools in mid-August, marking the first group of Mandarin instructors in the country. This initiative is part of a 2023 agreement between Saudi Arabia and China to enhance cooperation in Chinese language education.
The teachers have recently completed a pre-service training programme at Tianjin Normal University, which took place from 29 July to 2 August. The training was organised in collaboration with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education and China’s Ministry of Education’s Center for Language Education and Cooperation.
This move underscores the growing strategic partnership between Beijing and Riyadh, building on the agreements made by the two nations’ leaderships in 2022.
Cankao Xiaoxi, a Xinhua-affiliated newspaper, reports that Saudi Arabia will introduce Chinese language classes in middle schools. Additionally, jiaohanyu.com, a site dedicated to Chinese language teaching programmes, indicates that a total of 800 teaching positions will be filled as part of this initiative.
