Xinjiang to strengthen education cooperation with Central Asia

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has the potential to strengthen cooperation in higher education with Central Asian countries, a famous expert said. 

"Xinjiang neighbors eight countries and is located in the heartland of the Eurasian continent. Xinjiang has strengths in geography, culture and education to carry out intensive cooperation in higher education with Central Asian countries," said Xu Tao, a researcher at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. 

Universities in Urumqi, including Xinjiang University, Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics and Xinjiang Agricultural University, are attracting more and more students from Central Asia. 

Statistics from the regional education department show that more than 20,000 students from Central Asia are studying in Xinjiang. And colleges in Xinjiang have established 10 Confucius Institutes in different countries, including Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Pakistan. 

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), Xinjiang will encourage colleges to strengthen Central Asia studies, stage more Sino-foreign cooperative education programs on major and key disciplines and enhance financial support for the Central Asia Base for International Promotion of Chinese Language.

Efforts will also be made to expand the size of relevant workshops to offer more training programs to government officials, think tank researchers and entrepreneurs from the Belt and Road countries.

Colleges will receive more support to establish Central Asian culture studies centers and Confucius classrooms.