Feeling the vibrant pulse of the East on Jordan's streets

Traveling from the ancient seven hills of Amman to the strategic northern hub of Irbid, one can easily discern a strategic, undeniable shift: Jordan is turning its gaze eastward, anchoring its future cooperation with China in economy, culture and governance.

During my recent trip, before I sat down with officials and scholars, it was the vibrant encounters on the streets that truly brought this shift to life.

Having lived in the Middle East for quite a while, I thought I was already used to the sights of Chinese cars weaving through streets and goods filling store shelves. Yet, Amman still had a surprise for me on day one.

I was spontaneously approached by an 18-year-old boy whose Mandarin was strikingly fluent — a remarkable feat after just over a year of study. With his father running a trading business in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, the young man was beaming with excitement as he had just received an offer from a university in Qingdao, Shandong province.

In his eyes, China was not a distant, abstract concept, but a tangible land of promise, career prospects and limitless personal horizons. He represents a rising cohort of young Jordanians eager to decode the secret of China's development, embodying exactly what Samir Habashneh, chairman of the Jordan-China Cultural Cooperation Committee, told me, "China holds such appeal that anyone who has visited once longs to return."

If this boy mirrored the forward-looking optimism of Jordan's youth, another encounter in the capital highlighted the profound institutional goodwill toward China.

As I was about to walk back to the hotel, a police officer stopped me. When I told him I'm from China, he turned back to his guard booth and emerged with a color-printed flyer written in Chinese. It contained safety tips and emergency contact protocols tailored for Chinese visitors and investors.

That flyer, handed to me by a law enforcement officer, spoke volumes. It was the grassroots manifestation of what senior Jordanian officials describe as China's role of an "irreplaceable stabilizer" in the Levant region. China's impartial stance on the Palestinian question and its commitment to peaceful resolution have earned deep appreciation that trickles down from top officials to common people.

In Irbid, at Yarmouk University, this nationwide enthusiasm is taking a highly structured form. The country's second-largest public university has unveiled an ambitious blueprint for an on-campus "China Village".

Surpassing the scope of a traditional Confucius Institute, this complex is envisioned by the university's president, Malek Alsharairi, as a permanent exhibition platform for China's innovations in all aspects.

Remarkably, the campus is integrating Chinese arts into its curriculum, planning full undergraduate concentrations in Chinese theater, and ensuring that architecture and engineering students study Chinese design methodologies.

The rationale is shrewdly practical: Irbid sits just a two-hour drive from Damascus. As Syria and surrounding nations embark on postwar reconstruction, Jordan aims to position itself as the safe and ideal regional hub. Jordanian graduates who master both the Chinese language and a firm grasp of China's technical ecosystems will possess an unmatched competitive edge in the regional labor market.

Moreover, this drive is moving beyond elite academies into the realm of vocational training. Rafat Mousa Al-Sawafin, director-general of Jordan's national Vocational Training Corporation, expressed an urgent eagerness to partner with Chinese peers to upgrade their facilities and equipment, particularly in microchip design and IT.

It marks a crucial transition from pure language learning to an integrated "Chinese plus vocational skills" model — a synergy that Zhao Xiaoqiang, cultural counselor at the Chinese embassy in Jordan, said will "bind together the vitality of young generations".

Centuries ago, ancient Arab traders traveled the Silk Road, guided by the famous maxim, "Seek knowledge, even unto China." Today, standing at the crossroads of Amman and Irbid, it is clear that this ancient thread remains unbroken.

Whether it is a young student packing his bags for Qingdao, an officer proudly holding a safety flyer in Chinese, or a university building a village to showcase Eastern tech, Jordan's embrace of China is rooted in a shared quest for stability, modernization and mutual respect.

In a world fraught with uncertainty, this deepening bond offers a refreshing blueprint for cooperation over confrontation — a quiet, powerful momentum felt on every street corner of Jordan.

The author is a correspondent at China Daily Asia-Pacific Bureau based in Dubai.