As of September 2025, 86 countries have incorporated Chinese into their national education systems. Why are more and more countries incorporating Chinese into their national education systems? What signal does this convey? How should overseas Chinese education respond? Wang Yi, Vice Dean of the Overseas Chinese College of Wenzhou University, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service's "Dongxiwen" on this matter. The summary of the interview transcript is as follows: Reporter: What are the specific implementation paths for these countries to incorporate Chinese into their national education system? Wang Yi: Chinese has been included in the national education system of many countries, and the representative models and paths can be summarized into the following three types. The system embedding type that is integrated into the overall education system from the national planning level. Russia has not only incorporated Chinese into its national education system, but also officially included it as a foreign language elective subject in the national unified examination since 2019. In 2015, South Africa included Chinese in its national basic education system, and in 2018, Chinese was included as a second language in the local higher education entrance examination system. Driven by close bilateral economic and trade relations and cooperation projects. For example, under the cooperation framework of jointly building the "the Belt and Road", Thailand has incorporated Chinese into the training plan of local vocational and technical colleges through the "Chinese+vocational skills" model to reserve local talents for cooperation projects. The "Hundred Schools Project" of China Arab cooperation has included Chinese language courses in the curriculum of public primary and secondary schools in the United Arab Emirates. Some African countries such as Egypt and Tunisia also offer Chinese language courses at various stages from primary school to university. Driven by social demand from bottom to top, this is particularly evident in countries with highly open economies and keen market awareness. Ireland's inclusion of Chinese as one of its "strategic foreign languages" is mainly due to strong feedback from the business community regarding the demand for Chinese talents. On August 24, 2025, the global finals of the 24th "Chinese Bridge" World University Chinese Competition were held in Pingtan, Fujian. The picture shows the contestants cheering for the finalists. Reporter Wang Dongming from China News Service: What are the characteristics of this phenomenon? Wang Yi: Looking at the world, there are three distinct characteristics of the phenomenon of incorporating Chinese into the national education system. Diversified geographical distribution. Chinese education has surpassed the cultural circles of East Asia and Southeast Asia, showing a trend of spreading to Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and African countries. Its trajectory highly overlaps with the geographical path of China's foreign investment and trade exchanges, presenting significant economic geographic features. The education stage is sinking. Early overseas Chinese education was mostly concentrated at the university level, but now it is rapidly sinking towards the basic education stage. This means that learners start learning Chinese at a younger age, with a longer learning cycle and more stable results. Internationalization of standard system. At present, the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) has more than 1400 test centers in over 160 countries worldwide, and the evaluation standards for Chinese education are becoming increasingly consistent worldwide, facilitating talent mobility and certification. On March 29, 2025 local time, the Belgian Ouhua Chinese Language School held its annual "China Day" event in Brussels, attracting many Belgian teenagers to participate and experience Chinese culture. The picture shows a girl experiencing Chinese character coloring in red. Reporter De Yongjian from China News Service: Why are more and more countries incorporating Chinese into their national education system? What signal does this convey? Wang Yi: Incorporating Chinese into the national education system is a rational choice made by various countries based on practical interests and long-term strategies. Firstly, from the perspective of trade dependence, Chinese has become the language of international trade and a tool for increasing income, directly driving countries to attach importance to Chinese education. Next is the manifestation of the premium of human capital. In the global industrial chain, especially in emerging fields such as international logistics, new energy, e-commerce, and artificial intelligence, local employees who are proficient in Chinese have varying degrees of salary premiums. This means that investing in Chinese education is investing in the competitiveness of the country's human resources. Once again, the spillover effects of digital infrastructure have driven the popularization of Chinese education. Countries that cooperate closely with China in infrastructure construction, 5G technology, and artificial intelligence have a significantly higher willingness and speed to introduce Chinese into their education systems, indicating that the synergy of technological standards has driven the demand for language and cultural learning. This sends a clear signal that language, as an institutional power and human capital element, is reshaping its pattern in the supply structure of global public goods. The inclusion of Chinese in the national education system by various countries is essentially an active adaptation to this change and a strategic human capital reserve for national development. Reporter: Some countries include Chinese in their high school graduation exams or university entrance exams. What does this mean? Wang Yi: This is a more iconic measure. At present, countries including Russia, Ireland, Belarus, Hungary, the United Kingdom, France, South Africa, etc. have successively listed Chinese as an optional subject for high school graduation exams or university entrance exams. Its profound meaning lies not only in the institutional mutual trust between countries, but also in the reconstruction of elite screening mechanisms and the transfer of knowledge power among countries. Through the baton of exams, Chinese has transformed from a tool language to an institutional language in the social cognition of these countries, and its influence has risen from the market level to the top-level design of the country. Reporter: What opportunities and challenges does the emphasis on Chinese education in various countries bring to overseas Chinese education? Wang Yi: Structural opportunities and challenges coexist. In terms of opportunities, the introduction of the national education system has brought a huge and stable group of new learners to the overseas Chinese education market, which has brought unprecedented development opportunities to the entire industry chain such as textbook publishing, digital education platforms, and teacher training, and has also opened up broader space for the international dissemination of Chinese culture. At the same time, the scattered and community-based Chinese education in the past is transforming into a standardized and large-scale education industry, giving rise to specialized sub fields such as curriculum design, teaching evaluation, and educational technology. Overseas Chinese education is entering a window period of industrial upgrading. The new challenges are equally severe. Firstly, the risk of "cultural discounting" still exists. There is a tendency in some countries to narrow down Chinese language teaching to business Chinese, overly emphasizing its instrumental nature and ignoring the cultural and ideological depth carried by the language, which may lead to the utilitarianism and shallowness of overseas Chinese education. Secondly, China's teaching standards and methods may conflict with overseas educational concepts and cultural habits, or lead to contradictions in standard adaptation. Some European countries' education systems emphasize critical thinking and personalized expression, which may not be suitable for standardized examination models. On August 14, 2025 local time, the 2025 ASEAN Countries' "Chinese+Vocational Skills" Education Development Seminar was held at Cambodia China University of Applied Sciences in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Reporter Yang Qiang from China News Service: What are the difficulties in carrying out Chinese education overseas? What should practitioners pay attention to? Wang Yi: The current difficulties mainly focus on two major structural obstacles. One is the paradox of teaching staff. There is a huge global demand gap for qualified Chinese language teachers, but many countries have not fully opened up the employment of Chinese teachers due to various reasons such as protecting their own job markets, leading to the paradox of "there is demand but no job opportunities". The second is the interference of some unfriendly voices. In some countries, Chinese education is labeled and politicized by individual politicians or media outlets, with restrictions imposed on so-called "academic security", which creates non educational barriers to the normal development of Chinese education. In this regard, overseas Chinese education practitioners need to adhere to localization and integration, promote the implementation of the "Chinese+" model, and combine Chinese with locally needed vocational skills. Developing "Chinese+Agricultural Technology" courses in agricultural countries and "Chinese+Hotel Management" courses in tourist countries can truly root Chinese in the soil of local socio-economic development. In addition, it is necessary to establish third-party certification, actively integrate with the international universal education system, enhance the acceptance and recognition of Chinese education through internationally recognized certification, and reduce misunderstandings about Chinese education. In short, we should interpret overseas Chinese education more as a global public good that enhances individual competitiveness and promotes cross-border cooperation. Promote the return of language learning to the essence of communication and development, and contribute to building a more interconnected and mutually understanding world with lasting strength. (Xinhua News Agency) Interviewee Profile: Wang Yi, Vice Dean and Associate Researcher of the Overseas Chinese College of Wenzhou University, PhD in Economics from the People's Friendship University of Russia, Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Social Sciences of Tsinghua University, Distinguished Researcher at the Chinese Business Research Center of Tsinghua University, and Deputy Director of the Chinese Business Research Committee of the Chinese Business History Society. I have presided over multiple provincial and ministerial level projects, as well as horizontal projects, including the China Postdoctoral Fund, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, the China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, and the Zhejiang Provincial Federation of Social Sciences. Published multiple academic papers in publications such as "Research on Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia", "Research on the History of Overseas Chinese", "Blue Book of World Overseas Chinese Situation Report", "Country Studies on Contemporary International Immigration Policy", and "Ba Gui Overseas Chinese Journal", and authored over 30 reports on political affairs.