The number of Chinese students studying in Spain has increased elevenfold since 2003, from 500 to more than 5,500 this year, according to figures provided China’s embassy in Spain, while Mandarin study is also growing among Spaniards as bilateral ties pay off. The number of Chinese students studying in Spain has increased elevenfold since 2003, from 500 to more than 5,500 this year, according to figures provided by China’s embassy in Spain. Speaking at an event in the city of Avila this week, embassy first secretary, Wang Zhiwei, also noted that the number of Spaniards studying in China had risen from 100 to 2,000 in the last eight years.
The growth is owed to strengthening bilateral relations as trade between the two countries has surged. In 2007, both agreed to recognise each other’s degree programmes, while academic partnerships were forged between 100 Chinese and Spanish universities.
There are also now five Confucius Institutes in Spain, with president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero last month calling the body “one of the most important cultural and educational embassies in the world". Likewise, the one Cervantes Institute in Beijing has seen a boom in interest with 5,000 Chinese students learning Spanish in 2010.
Wang emphasised the fact that Spanish and Chinese are two of the world’s most important languages, and said that educational and cultural exchange would be essential as trade between South America and China continued to grow.
It will also help Spain's tourism industry, which catered to 100,000 Chinese in 2010 with numbers said to be rising at around 25% a year.
The USA is also keen to build educational ties with China, as we
reported last week, with the US State Department using the celebrity kudos of Will.i.am to promote studying in China.
The number of Chinese students studying in Spain has increased elevenfold since 2003, from 500 to more than 5,500 this year, according to figures provided by China’s embassy in Spain. Speaking at an event in the city of Avila this week, embassy first secretary, Wang Zhiwei, also noted that the number of Spaniards studying in China had risen from 100 to 2,000 in the last eight years.
The growth is owed to strengthening bilateral relations as trade between the two countries has surged. In 2007, both agreed to recognise each other’s degree programmes, while academic partnerships were forged between 100 Chinese and Spanish universities.
There are also now five Confucius Institutes in Spain, with president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero last month calling the body “one of the most important cultural and educational embassies in the world”. Likewise, the one Cervantes Institute in Beijing has seen a boom in interest with 5,000 Chinese students learning Spanish in 2010.
Wang emphasised the fact that Spanish and Chinese are two of the world’s most important languages, and said that educational and cultural exchange would be essential as trade between South America and China continued to grow.
It will also help Spain’s tourism industry, which catered to 100,000 Chinese in 2010 with numbers said to be rising at around 25% a year.
The USA is also keen to build educational ties with China, as we reported last week, with the US State Department using the celebrity kudos of Will.i.am to promote studying in China.
