Confucius Institutes Research Articles

A Study on the Relationship between Confucius Institutes and Kenya’s Agricultural Economy in the Belt and Road Perspective: A Case Study of Confucius Institute at Egerton University

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has attracted attention from all sides since it was proposed. As one of the bridges connecting China and the countries along the Belt and Road, Confucius Institutes have also received attention for their declining popularity and role in recent years. To explore whether Confucius Institutes can seize the new development opportunities brought by the Belt and Road, to realize innovative development and achieve better economic cooperation between China and the countries along the route. This paper takes Kenya’s economic structure as an entry point and focuses on the relationship between Kenya’s economic and agricultural development and the development of Confucius Institutes. Using the case study method, it analyzes the agricultural cooperation mechanism of the Confucius Institute Egerton University in Kenya--”Chinese + Agriculture” schooling characteristics. The paper concludes that under this mechanism, the Confucius Institute does have the possibility of further development. Based on this, this paper puts forward the following suggestions. The future development of Confucius Institutes should not be purely as a platform for cultural export but should pay more attention to the development mechanism that combines with the actual economic needs of the local community to have a more long-term development.

Boom or Bust: Unveiling the Media Portrayal of Confucius Institutes in America and Britain

Intercultural communication institutes, such as the Goethe Institut and Confucius Institute, were established to globally promote language and culture. However, the status of Confucius Institutes (CIs), particularly those in the UK and US, has shifted. In light of these evolving perspectives, this research employed Fairclough’s three-dimensional model and Halliday’s systemic functional grammar as theoretical frameworks in examining the diachronic transformations in the portrayal of CIs in American and British media discourse spanning the last decade. By analyzing intertextuality and linguistic elements, such as lexical choices and the usage of modal verbs, this study discerns different images of CI constructed by the media. Before 2020, the media highlighted the cultural elements of CI.

Chinese Path to Modernization and Confucius Institutes

Chinese Path to Modernization and Confucius Institutes

AVAILABILITY OF CHINESE LANGUAGE AS AN ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE IN UKRAINE

This article explores the increasing interest among Ukrainian citizens, particularly students, in learning the Chinese language. This trend is influenced by several key factors: China’s significant achievements on the global stage, its open-door policy, the expansion of Confucius Institutes, and the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The article discusses various dimensions of collaboration in higher education, including the development of academic exchange programs and joint educational initiatives aimed at enhancing mutual understanding and cooperation.The study highlights the critical importance of establishing favorable conditions for teaching Chinese in Ukrainian universities. It identifies several challenges that educational institutions face, such as a shortage of qualified Chinese language instructors, inadequate teaching resources, and limited opportunities for student engagement with native speakers. Additionally, the article emphasizes the need for improved infrastructure and institutional support to facilitate effective language instruction.The findings suggest that while there is a growing demand for Chinese language education in Ukraine, many higher education institutions currently lack the necessary organizational and economic resources to meet this demand. The article calls for further research to investigate the barriers to implementing Chinese language programs and to explore potential solutions, including increased international collaboration and support from Chinese organizations.

Gender and Political Compliance Under Authoritarian Rule

When autocrats do not impose explicit rules of behavior on their subjects, what does political compliance look like? Existing research suggests that such conditions generate uncertainty, leading risk-adverse individuals to self-censor in an effort to minimize the risk of punishment. In this paper, we find that women and men differ in how they express political compliance under conditions of uncertainty. Focusing on Confucius Institute teachers who are given broad objectives but no specific rules of political behavior, we use interviews, a global survey, and an experiment to show that women express compliance by increasing uncensored discussions to persuade host country students toward the Chinese regime’s point of view. In contrast, men comply by vociferously defending the party line and censoring further discussions. These gendered strategies of political compliance are rooted in the differing gender socialization experiences of men and women, who face divergent expectations on how they should interact with others.

Inequalities, policies, and culture: English, Arabic, and Chinese in the Bahraini linguistic market

ABSTRACT Due to modernisation and Englishisation in Bahrain, noticeably different types of bilingual and bicultural experiences exist, especially among the youth. Recently, the rise of Chinese education policies in the region raises the question of how it might alter the local linguistic market and the forms of capital within it. Applying a scalar-chronotopic analysis to audio-recorded conversations from Bahraini youth as well as textual data from the Confucius Institute in Bahrain’s website and related press releases, this paper lays out key information about the status of languages in the Bahraini linguistic market to discuss how Chinese might alter the current state of affairs. This approach also highlights the indexical differences in how these codes are promoted and perceived. I argue that whereas the sociocultural aspect highlighted in the promotion of Chinese is somewhat absent when it comes to English, it still has neoliberal implications. I conclude with a discussion regarding a more productive integration of ‘culture’ in the promotion and acquisition of language.

A third player: Chinese linguistic and cultural influence at a UAE university

ABSTRACT As part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a series of large-scale projects have been launched in the Arab Gulf due to its geopolitically strategic position. We examine the influence of Chinese as a third player, in addition to Arabic and English, in a UAE university educationscape together with Emirati students’ attitudes towards its influence. The study takes a case study approach, which employs open-ended questionnaires with university students (n = 40), semi-structured interviews with university students (n = 3) and a university Confucius Institute director and visual data from a walking ethnography of university social, learning, and online spaces. Data are analysed thematically via the lens of ‘Critical, Cultural Political Economy of Education’ (CCPEE), which brings together a range of concepts to interrogate globalising processes within an ‘education ensemble’. Key findings revealed a growing influence and awareness of Chinese language and culture in the UAE as well as generally positive attitudes towards such growth. There was, however, less interest in learning Chinese in comparison with other languages such as Korean and Turkish connected with soft power and media presence via dramas and music. Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to informing future language policy directions in the UAE.

‘Panda diplomacy’ and the subtle rise of a Chinese language ecology in Qatar

ABSTRACT Over the past two decades, the Chinese language has emerged as a global language. Gulf Cooperation Council countries, such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, have integrated Chinese language into their educational systems and established Confucius Institutes to promote Chinese language and culture. In Qatar, interest in Chinese language education has risen, though not as pronounced as its neighbouring countries. This article, grounded in a Critical Cultural Political Economy of Education (CCPEE) approach, provides a comprehensive overview of Chinese language and education policy in Qatar, utilising a mix of primary and secondary sources, and insights from the second author’s role as a Chinese language coordinator in Qatar. The article examines cultural, political, and economic aspects related to Qatar-China ties and the Chinese community in Qatar, the role of China during the World Cup, Chinese language in the linguistic landscape, Chinese language education policies, and the state of a Confucious Institute in Qatar. Finally, it offers some implications in terms of the future of Chinese language education in the country and some fruitful directions for further research.

Problematising China’s soft power: setbacks of Confucius Institutes and the decentralisation of its international language and culture promotion strategy

The Confucius Institute (CI), as China’s flagship soft power initiative, experienced rapid development in its early years, reaching 500 centres worldwide in just over a decade. However, the past few years have seen a wave of CI closures, especially in the US, where more than 100 CIs have been closed, problematising China’s soft power efforts. In response, China revised its international language and culture promotion (ILCP) strategy in mid-2020 by abolishing the CI Headquarters/Hanban and creating two sperate organisations: the Chinese International Education Foundation (CIEF) and the Centre for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC). This shift demonstrates a decentralising trend across three dimensions: administrative, political, and fiscal. This article explores the reasons behind the CI’s rapid development and recent setbacks, examines the details of China’s decentralised ILCP strategy, and finds that the positive effects of this strategy are yet to be seen.

Deciphering China’s higher education outreach paradigm in Southeast Asia: can a neo-tributary perspective work?

AbstractChina’s unprecedented economic rise has fueled scholarly debates about its mentality of power strategy. Pundits have approached China’s strategic objectives through its higher education outreach, with Confucius Institute expansion and international student recruitment as two mostly discussed pathways. Whereas their efforts have been largely oriented by Western lexicon including soft power and center-periphery dichotomy. China’s emerging engagements in higher education aid projects and partnerships, particularly along the Belt and Road, are rarely noticed. Adopting the Chinese history-based neo-tributary perspective as the theoretical lens, this study (re)conceptualizes China’s paradigm for global rise through its higher education export to Southeast Asia, encompassing language training, educational development assistance, student mobility, and institution/program partnerships. Data was collected from documentation, institutional data, and semi-structured interviews with 40 informants from Sino-Cambodian higher education programs. The results suggest that universities serve as a showcase for a more pragmatic Chinese exceptionalism, in which traditional Chinese worldview has been incorporated with scientific outward-looking Western ideals. A cultural recognition-seeking tactic has been experimented through telling stories of China’s attractive contemporary cultures and values in educational practices. China has relied more on utilizing higher education as a tool for short-lived economic incentives, diplomatic alliances, and image-building activities to yield quick returns. However, concrete higher education outreach practices remain scant. Neo-tributary perspective is helpful in systematically examining China’s power projection but still confined to its simplified presuppositions of Sino-centrism. It should integrate pluralistic concepts like tianxia and knowledge diplomacy to unveil China’s interactions with the ‘Global South’ and the ‘Global North’.

Book Review: From Missionary Education to Confucius Institutes: Historical Reflections on Sino-American Cultural Exchange by Jeff Kyong-McClain and Joseph Tse-Hei Lee (eds)

Book Review: <i>From Missionary Education to Confucius Institutes: Historical Reflections on Sino-American Cultural Exchange</i> by Jeff Kyong-McClain and Joseph Tse-Hei Lee (eds)

Analysis of the application and effectiveness of grand canal museum resources in international Chinese education

This article discusses how to use the resources of the Grand Canal Museum to enrich the content of international Chinese education and improve teaching effectiveness. With the acceleration of globalization, international Chinese education has become an important bridge for promoting cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. As an important cultural heritage in ancient China, the Grand Canal has rich resources along its route that are of unique value for international Chinese education. The Confucius Institute at the University of the West Indies Mona Campus, referred to as "UWI Confucius Institute", is the only Confucius Institute in Jamaica and is committed to promoting Chinese language education and Chinese culture. This article proposes teaching suggestions by analyzing the current application status, expectations, and practical effects of the Grand Canal Museum resources in the UWI Confucius Institute.The study found that although the teachers of the Confucius Institute at the University of Western Australia recognized the value of the resources of the Grand Canal Museum, there were limitations in their application. Through classroom observation and student surveys, it was found that teachers rarely explained the culture of the Grand Canal in depth, while students showed great interest in it. Therefore, this article proposes the application of canal culture, intangible cultural heritage resources, and archaeological discovery resources, and designs teaching plans based on actual conditions. Through online visits to the Grand Canal Museum and other forms, students can intuitively experience the charm of the Grand Canal culture.Practice has shown that the introduction of resources from the Grand Canal Museum has effectively stimulated students' interest in learning and improved teaching effectiveness. However, issues such as network fluctuations, difficulty in understanding professional vocabulary, and insufficient student interaction still need to be addressed. In response, this article proposes deepening the exploration of teaching materials resources, optimizing online services, strengthening cooperation between museums and schools, and increasing practical links, in order to contribute to the international dissemination of the Grand Canal culture and the development of international Chinese education.This article emphasizes the important role of the Grand Canal Museum resources in international Chinese education, and calls on teachers to strengthen cooperation and communication, innovate teaching methods, and let the Grand Canal culture shine on the international stage.

Research on the Development and Construction of Confucius Institutes in Portugal under the Belt and Road Initiative

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed by President Xi Jinping during his visits to Central Asia and Southeast Asia in 2013, advocating for collaborative development with countries along the route. Spanning across the continents of Asia and Europe, the Indian Ocean, and the western Pacific, the BRI involves 64 countries with a total population of over 3 billion and a combined GDP accounting for nearly 20% of the global economy, holding significant strategic importance. Historically, the BRI serves not only as a platform for commercial trade but also as a medium for cultural exchanges among the countries along its route. In reality, embracing cultural diversity aligns with the collaborative development goals of the BRI, promoting cultural and civilizational exchanges among nations, achieving holistic cultural complementarity, and fostering social harmony and development. In recent years, Chinese language education has been included in the educational systems of European, Latin American, and African countries alongside languages such as French, Russian, and Spanish. In the context of increasingly integrated global interests, Chinese language education has gained more attention. To internationalize and diversify Chinese language education, the term Confucius Institute was coined. Drawing on international experience, the Chinese government has established numerous Confucius Institutes and classrooms overseas. Among them, Portugal is one of the European countries with the closest cooperation with China in education, language, and humanities. With the comprehensive development of Sino-Portuguese relations, more opportunities have arisen for Sino-Portuguese language and cultural exchanges, expanding the development prospects of Confucius Institutes. Currently, the four main Confucius Institutes jointly established by major universities in Portugal are: Minho University Confucius Institute, University of Lisbon Confucius Institute, University of Aveiro Confucius Institute, and University of Coimbra Confucius Institute. Each Confucius Institute has its own educational positioning, such as providing basic Chinese language teaching, training Chinese language teachers, improving Chinese language teaching resources, and organizing Chinese cultural exchange activities, providing Portuguese students with a platform for learning Chinese language and culture.

CULTURAL SOFT POWER IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: CONTRASTING IMAGES OF CHINA AND CONFUCIUS INSTITUTES IN BRITISH MEDIA DISCOURSE, POLICYMAKING AND PUBLIC RESPONSES (2013–2022)

In 2022 the Confucius Institute (CI), part of China’s cultural outreach around the world, found itself at the centre of intense debate in the United Kingdom (UK). Its 30 branches on British university campuses became a symbol of a changed attitude towards a country that had been regarded as a partner, but was increasingly seen as a systemic challenge, or even a threat to national security. In this article, I posit the CI as the bellwether of the bilateral relationship over the past decade (2013–2022), contrasting its images as reflecting the dynamics in the British political environment and the UK’s standing in a post-Brexit context. Via content analysis of British media representation of the CI, I interpret China’s soft power through the lens of cultural diplomacy and analyse the emerging themes in the stories about CIs in the UK. I highlight the political divergence over attitudes towards the CIs’ presence between England and Scotland and examine evidence of their influence in public life and among their target audiences. While CIs in the UK resisted threats of closure, the introduction of new policies in England prompted some distancing from these controversial outposts.

Modeling the audience’s perception of security in media discourse

Combining the concepts of securitization with a discourse analytic approach, the study presents an attempt to investigate how the audience’s perception toward an unconventional security issue has been shaped in media context. As a case study, this paper delves into the portrayal of the Confucius Institute in the U.S. media discourse. By analyzing the coverage of the Confucius Institute in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal from 2004 to 2022, it aims to unpack the narratives and representations surrounding this institution. With a particular focus on how the use of language shapes the audience’s perception and subsequently influences their cognition in the context of the securitization of Confucius Institutes, a select sample of texts from the corpus was collected for coded qualitative analysis to allow for a deeper understanding of how the media constructs and disseminates information about the Confucius Institute. The findings turn out that American media actors deliver a bottom-up securitizing move by interacting with socio-political value positions on Confucius Institutes in the United States, grounding a cognitive construction of security threat into shaping public emotive perceptual experience with dialogically patterned linguistic configurations.

Establishing a Material Description Table to Optimize Mandarin Proficiency for Indonesian Learners: An Applied Contrastive Analysis Perspective

Abstract. This study aims to elucidate the most contrasting differences between Mandarin and Indonesian language rules. Based on the analysis results, it is hoped that this can serve as a foundation for creating a learning media, namely a descriptive material table. The study reveals that the most contrasting rule lies in the Indonesian language auxiliary number words, which have no more than 30 auxiliary number words, whereas in Mandarin, or known as 量, there are over 200 such words. Additionally, there is a rule for constructing past tense sentences. In Indonesian, a word meaning “finished” is used to indicate the past, contrasting with Mandarin, which employs the particle “了”, which can also have different meanings according to different rules. Furthermore, there is a Numeral system rule where Indonesian simply translates numbers into letters, while Mandarin has specific and detailed rules; this clearly presents a contrasting difference. There is also a rule on reduplication, or in Mandarin termed 重叠, where the quantity of rules between the two languages is almost balanced, yet the functions of usage are vastly contrasting. Lastly, there is the rule of “离合词”, a Mandarin language rule that has no equivalent in Indonesian. The method employed is a mixed-method approach, along with a narrative elaboration model based on quantitative differences in the amount of data between Mandarin and Indonesian languages, which are then expounded upon qualitatively. The data source used is the Confucius Institute (孔子学院) recommended books: 标准教程 Standard Course HSK (Hanyu Shuping Kaoshi / Chinese Proficiency Tes) 1 - 6 下 (Part 2). Data analysis techniques include identification, classification, and presentation of the results of data analysis. The results of the research and presentation show that there is a big gap between Mandarin and Bahasa Indonesia linguistic tools, with each of the rules that bind it. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a learning media to reduce this gap.Keywords: Material description table, Applied Contrastive Analysis, Mandarin, Indonesian Learners.

“Confucius Institute” at Novosibirsk State University: Teaching Chinese Today

In 2023, the number of native Chinese language teachers at Novosibirsk State University and its partner universities in the Confucius Institute project returned to pre-pandemic levels, and the scale of educational activities and related projects such as a summer language camp in China were restored. The article discusses issues of staffing and measures in the field of improving the professional level of teachers, features of teaching Chinese language (ways of involving Chinese teachers in vocational, secondary and additional education programs, models of interaction between Chinese and Russian teachers such as joint classes, independent classes with separate presentation of different types of educational material within one course or teaching certain aspects of the Chinese language). The activities of the Confucius Institute in the field of holding competitions in the Chinese language and the results of students’ participation in competitions of various levels are also shown. Stimulating the competitive activity of students, according to the authors, is an important additional condition for the development of their language skills and achievements in competitions which indicate a high level of language training provided by the Confucius Institute centre.

CHINA’S PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AT THE PRESENT STAGE

The purpose of the research. The article examines the current state of public diplomacy research in China. The subject, object, method and purpose of public diplomacy are analyzed. As a resource of national soft power, culture is an important means of implementing public diplomacy. In the article, we analyze the specific Chinese practice of implementing public diplomacy from the point of view of cultural public diplomacy. Results. As a result of the conducted research, the author comes to the conclusion that the status of public diplomacy in Chinese national diplomacy has increased rapidly. First, with regard to the current state of research, in recent years, the research of Chinese scientists in the field of public diplomacy has focused more on applied research than on theoretical ones, such as the role of public diplomacy in shaping the country’s image and strengthening its soft power. Secondly, with regard to the definition of public diplomacy, Chinese scientists hold different views on the subject, object and method of public diplomacy, but on the purpose of public diplomacy, Chinese scientists believe that public diplomacy, like other types of traditional diplomacy, is aimed at protecting and strengthening national interests. Thirdly, humanitarian exchanges have always been an important part of Xi Jinping’s socialist diplomatic thought with Chinese specifics in the new era and an important pillar of Chinese diplomacy. China has enriched Chinese public diplomacy with the opening of Confucius institutes, exchanges, large-scale cultural events and large-scale sports events, promoted the popularization of Chinese culture, strengthened mutual understanding and cooperation with the peoples of other countries and achieved good results.

Review of Li (2019): Language management and its impact: The policies and practices of Confucius Institutes

Review of Li (2019): Language management and its impact: The policies and practices of Confucius Institutes

The Impact of Culture Distance on China’s Trade Exports to the 58 Countries along the “Belt and Road”

Culture, as an informal system, has received extensive attention from scholars in international trade involving cross-cultural exchanges. Starting from Hofstede’s theory of the six dimensions of culture, this paper empirically verifies the impact of culture distance on China’s exports to the 58 countries along the “Belt and Road” by using the trade gravity model. The study finds that culture distance has a first inhibiting and then promoting “U” shape effect on China’s trade exports to countries along the “Belt and Road”, and that culture distance has a heterogeneous effect on China’s trade exports to countries in terms of the categories of products and the target countries’ income levels. In addition, culture interaction activities like Friendship Cities and Confucius Institutes can positively moderate the influence of culture distance on China’s trade export.