Beijing, June 5th (Xinhua) — Title: “Chinese fever” reflects “Chinese fever”
Recently, the “Chinese Bridge” Chinese competition has been flourishing in many countries. Many participants not only speak fluent Chinese, but also demonstrate their understanding of China’s national conditions and love for Chinese culture through impromptu speeches, knowledge quizzes, talent shows, and other activities. The stunning Chinese performances of many national contestants not only reflect the continuous rise of the “Chinese fever” overseas, but also reflect the increasingly strong “magnetic attraction” of China’s colorful charm and diverse opportunities.
In recent years, the trend of learning and using Chinese has continued to heat up overseas. Data shows that since its implementation, the number of candidates for the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) has been increasing at an average rate of 20% per year, with over 810000 candidates worldwide taking the exam in 2024. As of September 2024, 85 countries have incorporated Chinese into their national education systems, and the cumulative number of international Chinese learners and users has exceeded 200 million.
Language fever reflects the trend of deepening economic and trade exchanges, cultural exchanges, and technological innovation. The high frequency “exposure” of Chinese elements on the world stage has made more and more foreigners interested in China, hoping to learn more about China and connect with China through learning Chinese.
Behind the ‘Chinese fever’ is the ‘Sino foreign economic and trade fever’. China has the second largest economy in the world and is a major trading partner of more than 150 countries and regions in the world. The “the Belt and Road” circle of friends covers more than three quarters of the countries in the world. In Laos, a pair of peasant brothers worked hard to learn Chinese to work in the Luang Prabang comprehensive maintenance area on the old railway; In recruitment advertisements in countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, especially in industries such as tourism and trade, Chinese language proficiency is often listed as a bonus item; At the Canton Fair, China International Import Expo, and China International Fair for Trade in Services held in China, many foreign businessmen spoke fluent Chinese to seek business opportunities and explore cooperation… With China’s development increasingly attracting worldwide attention and the door to opening up to the outside world becoming wider and wider, Chinese has become a bridge connecting opportunities. Many people have opened up their development paths and changed their life trajectories by learning Chinese.
In order to increase the employment skills of more young people, many schools adopt a talent training model of “Chinese+vocational skills”, providing students with a broader growth path and an internationally aligned platform. Emmanuel Legonga, a Chinese teacher at the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, said, “Chinese is not only a language, but also a door to a wider world
Behind the ‘Chinese fever’ is the ‘Chinese culture fever’. With the continuous expansion of China’s visa free “circle of friends”, more foreign friends can personally experience and appreciate China’s long history and culture. According to the data, 20.115 million visa free foreigners will enter China’s ports in 2024, up 112.3% year on year. This year’s first “Intangible Cultural Heritage Spring Festival” global fan base, various regions have launched intangible cultural heritage characteristic experience projects, adding another flame to “China Tour”. According to a survey by the China Tourism Research Institute, over 60% of respondents consider experiencing Chinese culture as their main purpose for traveling to China. Jiang Zhenhao, a Korean, began to learn Chinese by himself after learning about China’s pilot visa free policy for South Korea, and successfully realized the plan to travel to Zhangjiajie with his parents.
Nowadays, many popular Chinese songs, TV dramas, games, online literature, short dramas, etc. are becoming popular overseas and have become cultural catalysts for Chinese learning. The domestic film “Ne Zha 2” released earlier this year has become the highest grossing animated film in global film history and has also been well received overseas. At this year’s “Chinese Bridge” competition in Russia, a contestant performed a voiceover of a segment from “Nezha 2”. A study released by Yangzhou University shows that Chinese cultural IP is becoming an important driving force for global Chinese language learning, with some phenomenal cultural works driving a surge in demand for Chinese language learning in multiple countries.
Behind the ‘Chinese fever’ is still the ‘Chinese technology fever’. In recent years, whether it is DeepSeek leading the trend of artificial intelligence big model development or Yushu Robot making a stunning appearance on the Spring Festival Gala stage, the progress of Chinese technology has frequently attracted widespread attention from international media. Not long ago, at the opening ceremony of the United Nations Chinese Language Day event held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, UN staff from different countries recited “Linjiang Immortal: Light of Civilization” generated by DeepSeek, reflecting the intersection of ancient and modern times and the integration of humanities and technology.
The progress of Chinese technology not only arouses more people’s interest in Chinese, but also empowers Chinese language teaching. The “Smart Learning Chinese” online course independently developed by Wisdom Palace International Cultural Communication Group Co., Ltd. has covered 22 Arab countries, with over 1 million learners on the online platform; The “International Chinese Smart Teaching System” independently developed by Beijing Language and Culture University using big language modeling technology provides a digital solution for achieving real-time learning, ubiquitous learning, and lifelong learning.
Language is the carrier of civilized communication. The ‘Chinese fever’ is a vivid footnote to China’s two-way pursuit with the world, and also a mark of the era of opening up China and sharing opportunities with the world. In the future, as more people learn and use Chinese, the credible, lovely and respectable image of China will be known by more people, and China’s friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation with people of other countries will be more active and in-depth.