MINSK, 6 June (BelTA) – Today China is a leader in terms of the number of foreign students studying in Belarusian higher education institutions. Belarusian Education Minister Andrei Ivanets made the statement during the ceremony held to award Belarusian winners of preliminary rounds of the 21st world Chinese proficiency competition for foreign college students Chinese Bridge and the 15th world Chinese proficiency competition for foreign secondary school students Chinese Bridge, BelTA has learned.
The award ceremony took place in Minsk State Linguistic University. Belarusian Education Minister Andrei Ivanets, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Belarus Xie Xiaoyong, First Secretary for Education Affairs of the Embassy of China in Belarus Li Bingguo, Rector of Minsk State Linguistic University Natalya Lapteva, and Rector of Belarusian National Technical University Sergei Kharitonchik took part in the award ceremony.
Andrei Ivanets said: “We have established tight ties in the area of education with friends from China. At present Chinese is learned as an individual discipline in 11 Belarusian higher education institutions. Minsk State Linguistic University has a Chinese language and culture faculty. It means that in addition to studying Chinese we train specialists in the area of intercultural communication. Six Confucius institutes operate at premises of our higher education institutions. They take care of interaction in the area of culture, language, and naturally science and technologies. It is a bilateral movement because 11 centers for Belarusian studies operate at premises of Chinese higher education institutions. It means the interest in our culture, in our education is mutual. Today China is a leader in terms of the number of foreign students studying in Belarusian higher education institutions. We realize joint education programs, which are recognized both in China and Belarus. This is why certainly we would like to more tightly continue cooperation.”
Xie Xiaoyong stressed that China-Belarus relations are highly advanced. “China and Belarus are strategic partners with trustful, mutually beneficial, and comprehensive mutual relations. China is the second largest trade partner in terms of trade turnover now. We also have good results in other fields, too. All this cooperation is impossible without human resources. And it is China-Belarus cooperation in the area of education that provides strong personnel support. Over 4,000 Belarusian students study Chinese in Minsk State Linguistic University every year and will contribute to cooperation of our countries in other fields,” the ambassador noted.
The preliminary rounds were organized by the Education Department of the Embassy of China in Belarus with assistance of Minsk State Linguistic University's Confucius Institute and Belarusian National Technical University's Confucius Institute for Science and Technology.
