Initiative spurs language learning

Less commonly taught tongues are needed as trade increases in Asia and Europe

To ensure sufficient skilled workers for China's Belt and Road Initiative, universities have been adding foreign language programs to cultivate interdisciplinary talent.

Beijing Foreign Studies University has made establishing more programs for languages one of the top objectives of its long-term plan.

University President Peng Long said that BFSU will open three more foreign language programs by 2020, bringing its total to 70.

Xu Liping, a senior researcher in Southeast Asian affairs at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, has experienced the urgent need to nurture talent with less commonly taught language skills.

"Chinese leaders, integrating domestic and overseas resources, designed the Belt and Road Initiative to cater to the trend of economic globalization, cultural diversity and the information era. The initiative has a higher requirement for talent, especially interdisciplinary talent," Xu said.

President Xi Jinping launched the initiative, Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, in 2013 to link Asia and Europe through development, trade and culture.

Wang Huiyao, president of the Center of China and Globalization, a Beijing-based think tank, said that one of the challenges to implement the initiative is the talent shortage.

"The initiative is China's new globalization," Wang said. "China has benefited from globalization. The country's GDP has increased six to seven times since entering the World Trade Organization."

Jia Wenjian, vice-president of BFSU, said the university sees the improvement of less commonly taught language programs as a pivot. "With appropriate support from the government and academia, we will witness the blossoming of less commonly taught languages," Jia said.

Liu Shuxiong, a professor in Southern Asian studies at the School of Foreign Languages at Peking University, said most of the countries and regions along the areas of the Belt and Road Initiative are developing economies, from Eastern Europe to Southeast Asia.

"More than 60 countries have expressed interest in the initiative. China has already signed memorandums with a few of them. More than half of people in the world have or will participate in the initiative. As a community for less commonly taught languages, we are obligated to be prepared for the big event on the international stage," Liu said.

Li Yonghui, dean of the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at BFSU, said the development of less commonly taught languages has "always bonded" with China's political and diplomatic development.

"China, as a rising country, has an urgent and massive need for talent in less commonly used languages," Li said. "However, maybe because it is growing quickly, the preparation of talent could not keep pace with development."

The Belt and Road Initiative promotes common development and prosperity.

According to the action plan issued in March, the initiative "runs through the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, connecting the vibrant East Asia economic circle at one end and developed European economic circle at the other, and encompassing countries with huge potential for economic development".

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which provides financial infrastructure for the initiative, was founded this year with the participation of 57 countries.

Three types of talent are in particular need for the initiative, said Xu, from the academy.

"The first type is those with language skills. ... The initiative covers three to four continents, including more than 60 countries. It requires communication and negotiation with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative. Talent with foreign language skills are in widespread need. ... Many enterprises told me that they need graduates from less commonly taught language programs and they are willing to pay them a decent salary," he said.

"The initiative involves projects in various fields, including finance, mechanics, fundamental facility construction and science cooperation. ... The future cooperation is in all fields, requiring talent from each field," Xu said, adding that he participated in satellite imaging cooperation in Southeast Asia in the Chinese Academy of Sciences.