Orientation of Chinese Education in Vietnamese Higher Education Institutions Under the Belt and Road Initiative

Abstract

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) played an essential role in the development of Chinese-language education worldwide, while opening new avenues for its incorporation across different disciplines. In this regard, Chinese language education in the Vietnamese higher education system developed in response to Vietnamese society's demand for the Chinese language, the growing bilateral relations between Vietnam and China, friendly governmental policies, and the international Chinese language education system. Vietnamese universities have begun implementing integrated training models, in particular athe "Chinese +" and "China Studies" models, in which Chinese language education is integrated and aligned with the nation's economic, cultural, and academic needs. Despite the developments above, numerous challenges remain to be addressed. Curriculum realignment in Chinese language education is the first and most important step toward meeting the labour market needs of Vietnamese society. The education in Chinese must be used to provide specialized training for personnel to teach Vietnamese culture in Chinese. The unadapted, or even insufficiently adapted, learning materials for Vietnamese society must be addressed. The purpose of this study is to identify the orientation and state of Chinese education in universities in Vietnam in the context of BRI, identify the new and emerging trends to understand the BRI structural constraints, and provide some recommendations to align the education of the Vietnamese society in the Chinese language with the education of the Chinese language. The findings are expected to contribute to the primary goal of sustaining and contextually developing the education of the Chinese language in Vietnam.