Source: Global Times
Japan's Nikkei Asia Review, August 26 article, original title: China-Russia relations are warming up, Chinese students flocking to Russian universities. According to data from the Russian side, Central Asian students remain the main group of foreign students in Russian higher education institutions, but the number of Chinese students increased by 25% from 2022 to 2024, reaching about 51,000. Russian officials proudly stated that the deepening China-Russia relationship is promoting closer cooperation between schools of the two countries.
Ashley Dudarevok, founder of the Chinese research and consulting firm ChoZan, said: "We are witnessing the rise of another international education system aligned with geopolitical partnerships." She predicts that the number of Chinese students studying in Russia will exceed 100,000 within five years. The deep cooperation between China and Russia is also reflected in: 21,000 Russian students studying in China, more than 160 joint undergraduate and graduate programs, and at least 27 joint educational institutions established. Checking the official website of Tomsk State University in Russia, it was found that the university has 18 cooperative projects with some well-known Chinese universities. Chinese students particularly favor fields such as mechatronics and robotics, mechanical system design and management technology, ballistics and aerodynamics, and artificial intelligence in engineering physics. Philip Low, founder of a Russian consulting company based in Moscow, said that compared to the West, lower tuition fees and scholarship prospects in Russian universities are attracting Chinese students.
Low said that promoting higher education cooperation between the two countries also involves strategic considerations. With Western companies leaving Russia, Chinese companies, especially in the automotive and consumer electronics sectors, quickly filled the gap left by their Western counterparts. "Numerous Mercedes and BMW dealerships on Moscow's main streets overnight became Geely and Chery dealerships. The expansion of Chinese companies obviously relies on Chinese talents who are familiar with the Russian business, legal, and cultural environment," said Dudarevok. She also believes this trend indicates a deeper transformation: "This is different from traditional education oriented towards immigration; it is strategic talent cultivation aimed at specific economic relations." Studying in Russia gives Chinese students an advantage in key areas such as trade, energy, engineering, healthcare, and diplomacy, and this advantage not only manifests in China itself, but also extends to Russian-speaking countries in Central Asia related to the infrastructure projects of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Philip Nubel, senior China analyst at the Prague-based International Affairs Think Tank AMO, believes that U.S. restrictive policies toward Chinese students will continue to drive this trend. "For Russia, which is currently under sanctions and has limited academic cooperation with many countries, the influx of Chinese students is an important lifeline, showing that Russia remains an important participant in international projects," he said. (Author: Jens Kastner, translated by Wang Beizhe)
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7543400948241875491/
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