Confucius Institute in Vietnam plays larger role in strengthening cultural exchanges

In response, the Confucius Institute at Hanoi University developed a special course that combines Chinese language education with vocational training, which not only provides talent for Chinese companies in Vietnam but also helps students find ways to develop careers and support their families.

In the third quarter of this year, trade between China and Vietnam even soared by 23.5 percent, according to Xinhua News Agency.

This is part of an overall trend with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations becoming China's largest trading partner for the first time in the first half of this year. This marks a historic milestone, with ASEAN and China becoming each other's biggest trading partner, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Vietnam is the chair of ASEAN this year and the 10-member bloc's summit will be held via video link from Nov 12-15 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The meetings include the ASEAN summit, the ASEAN-China summit, the 23rd ASEAN-China, Japan and South Korea leaders' meeting, the 15th East Asia Summit, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) summit and the first ASEAN women leaders' summit, a Vietnamese spokesperson said at a press briefing on Nov 5 in Hanoi.

"China has made huge advancements in technology and moved up quickly in the global innovation rankings, which provide opportunities for international Chinese language education to support regional trade and economic cooperation, the upgrade of China-ASEAN strategic partnership and the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative in Southeast Asia," said Van.

Noting Vietnam and China are very close neighbors connected by mountains and rivers, Van said she is brimming with hope for the two countries' future cooperation in culture and education.

"Vietnam and China are expected to be one of the few countries that are going to post positive economic growth this year. In the post-pandemic era, the trade and economic exchanges between China and ASEAN countries will be more frequent, leading to the rapid growth in the demand for Chinese language talent in the region," said Van.

Seeing huge demand for skilled talent in Vietnam, Van said the institute will put more focus on the hybrid model of Chinese language education and vocational training. She said she hopes to enhance cooperation with companies to provide internships or job opportunities for students while developing suitable language courses that will also meet the requirement for professional skills training in Vietnam.

"We will also assist the Chinese Department of Hanoi University and other educational organizations to roll out joint cultivation programs … which will allow the Vietnamese students to continue their studies in China and work in Chinese companies as interns after studying Chinese for one or two years in Vietnam," said Van, who hopes to provide more opportunities in career development for Vietnamese students.

Looking forward, she said the institute will continue to improve its education quality and bring more Vietnamese students to study in China.

"We will continue to nurture talent equipped with a global vision and intercultural communication skills, playing our part in meeting the demand for international talent in China, Vietnam and even across the whole ASEAN region," said Van.