How Academics and Educational Institutions help the realisation of BRI in the Gulf

The roles of academics and educational institutions in the implementation of China’s Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) should not be neglected. From the time the initiative was introduced, academic intellectuals and institutions have indeed played a crucial role in promoting and socialising the BRI.

When drawing up the plan for the BRI and the AIIB, Xi and his teams seemed to acknowledge the importance of intellectuals and academic establishments in the implementation of the project. Vision and Action of the BRI states that the initiative will involve academic efforts, such as sending “more students to each other’s countries”, granting “government scholarships”, and establishing “cooperation in jointly running schools”. Such objectives have manifested in the implementation of the BRI in the Gulf as a means to create legitimacy for the initiative.

One important institution is the Qatar-PKU Chair in Middle Eastern Studies, which was established during the Emir of Qatar’s visit to Beijing in mid-2014, between the Qatar government and Peking University (PKU). The most noticeable initiative by the centre was a public lecture entitled: “China’s Foreign Policy and the GCC” at Qatar University. The main topic of the discussion was the BRI; one of the speakers, Professor Wu, talked about the BRI, and how the initiative would benefit Qatar and the Gulf.

Shanghai University also played a role in inciting public debate about the initiative in the Gulf. In March 2016, the university cooperated with the Centre for Turkish Studies, the Maltepe University, and Sociology of Islam Journal to organised a conference titled: “Neoliberalism with Chinese Characteristics in the Middle East” at Qatar University  where topics related to the BRI, the AIIB, and the Chinese Dream were discussed, including the Chinese model of development and the implications of the BRI in the Gulf.

Academic institutions are also crucial in forming moral and intellectual legitimacy for the financial aspect of the BRI. For example, the China-UAE Conference on Islamic Banking has been held in China since 2015. The conference, which is organised by various Chinese and Gulf institutions, such as China Islamic Finance Club as well as the Dubai Centre for Islamic Banking and Finance, discusses issues such as ways to enhance the Islamic finance aspect of the BRI’s implementation in the Gulf.

Confucius Institutes

The Confucius Institute is another academic institution that plays an important role in the consensus-building efforts behind the initiative. At a conference in summer 2015, the Confucius Institutes’ Chief Executive proclaimed that the Institutes, which are the Chinese Ministry of Education-affiliated institutions founded to teach Chinese language and other China-related courses globally, involve themselves in the implementation of the BRI and the AIIB.

Internationally, the Confucius Institutes have organised several training programs for the construction of infrastructures related to the BRI. Additionally, the institutes have held public

conferences and seminars on the initiative as an effort to socialise the project.

In the Gulf, such efforts have also been increasingly apparent. It is vital to note that several

branches of the Confucius Institute have been established in the Gulf since the beginning of China’s internationalisation in the region. The first branch was established at Zayed University in 2010 and was followed by the second at the University of Dubai in 2011. The third branch of the Confucius Institute in the region is located at the University of Bahrain, and was founded in 2014.

One notable BRI-related activity of Confucius Institutes in the Gulf was a conference held at the Abu Dhabi branch in March 2017, in cooperation with the Emirates Policy Centre. It was entitled “Prospects of Partnership between China and the UAE under the One Belt, One Road Initiative”. In May of the same year, the Confucius Institute in Bahrain held the first “Belt and Road” International Seminar, attended by over 500 scholars from seven countries. At such events, topics related to how the BRI and the AIIB are being implemented in the region were presented, such as the importance of energy in the initiative and the various projects that are currently being pursued in the Gulf.

Another role of the Confucius Institutes in the implementation of the BRI in the Gulf is through promoting the Chinese language across the region. Such language efforts have taken the

form of offering Chinese language classes to the Gulf’s peoples, who in recent years have experienced an increase in the number of students. Other institutes have also become involved in this effort. For instance, in 2015 the Chinese Embassy in Qatar signed a MoU with the Translation and Interpreting Studies Faculty at Qatar’s Education City to collaborate in language teaching and cultural activities. The deal has manifested in Chinese language classes being offered to the Qatari public.

The increasing interest in the Chinese language among the Gulf society not only helps the implementation of the BRI and the AIIB in the Gulf by raising people’s awareness of China. It has also improved communications among relevant stakeholders in the implementation of the initiative.

Intellectuals

In addition to academic institutions, the role of academics should also be noted. In most cases, these intellectuals contribute to the promotion of the BRI through their publications. For example, Wang Jinglie published an article for Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (in Asia), in which he asserts that the Chinese “wish that when we realise the ‘Chinese Dream,’ the Arab countries will not only be happy for us, but will also achieve their own ‘Arab Dream’”. Sun Degang of the Shanghai International Studies University and Yahia Zoubir of Kedge Business School in France also wrote an article in the same journal, where they stated that “Chinese and Arabs share similar dreams of achieving their respective national rejuvenation in the 21st century. As two great civilizations, the ‘Chinese Dream’ and the ‘Arab Dream’ share similarities”.

Impacts

The growing efforts by educational institutions and academics have not been without

consequence. In the recent years, there has been a rise of individuals from within the region, who, directly or indirectly, are involved in the promotion of the BRI.

Academic institutions in the Gulf have increasingly published studies and held seminars on the BRI, the AIIB, and the Chinese Dream. In May 2016, for example, the Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies in Qatar held a conference: “The Arab World and China: Future Prospects of Relations with a Rising Power”. 

Aside from publishing studies and organising conferences about the BRI and the AIIB, these regional institutions have also become interested in bolstering partnerships with Chinese institutions. In September 2017, the UAE University concluded an agreement with Zhejiang University to cooperate in student exchanges and collaborative research, and in academic activities such as courses and seminars. 

Academics and public intellectuals in the Gulf have also increasingly engaged in promoting public debates on the BRI and the AIIB. For example, the GCC’s Assistant General Secretary, Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg, wrote an article on the BRI for Saudi-based newspaper Arab News, whereby he stated that: “the initiatives could usher in a new economic and political alliance between China and the rest of Asia, including the Middle East” .

The rise of the pro-China intellectuals from within Gulf society is also rooted in the offering of scholarships to regional intellectuals.

Since the beginning of China’s entry to the Gulf, many intellectuals from the Gulf have been given scholarships to study in China. These scholarships are offered mainly by the China Scholarship Council (CSC), which is the Chinese Ministry of Education’s non-profit organisation that offers financial aid and scholarship to both Chinese and non-Chinese to study overseas or in China. The CSC has worked with different Gulf universities and ministries, and funded students from the region to study in China since the early years of China’s presence in the Gulf.

Such efforts have been complemented by Chinese academic institutions which participate annually in educational exhibitions across the region. These include the International Education

and Conference on Higher Education in Riyadh and the Dubai International Education Exhibition, which have led to Gulf students becoming interested in studying in China.

When the BRI and the AIIB were introduced, Xi also pledged to increase the number of scholarships to students from the countries along the routes. Gulf students are included as recipients of this scholarship. As Xi announced in his speech at the Arab League headquarters, his government intended to provide 10,000 scholarships and 10,000 training opportunities to Middle Eastern students.

The China-Oman Industrial Park at Duqm has also cooperated with the Omani government

to offer scholarships to Omani students to study in China with funding from the park. In the last few years, many of the scholarship recipients have returned to the Gulf. As an example, in June 2018, the first batch of 39 Omani students returned, following completing vocational training at Ningxia Polytechnic, to work at the Duqm park.

This has resulted in the emergence of intellectuals from within the Gulf who are acquainted with Chinese politics, economics, and cultures, and are well-versed in the Chinese language. Even though not all of them are pursuing careers as academics, the experiences of living and studying in China have made these scholarship recipients not only very interested in imitating the Chinese way of life, but also in educating the public about China and what they have learnt there.

Due to the increasing interest in China among politicians, intellectuals, and the general public, numerous universities in the Gulf have begun to offer China-related courses. Qatar University, for example, now teaches classes on Chinese politics and philosophy in Arabic. China-related courses are also offered by several regional universities, such as at Kuwait University, the American University of Sharjah, and the University of Sharjah.

Similarly, since mid-2016, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in Oman has been teaching Chinese language courses. It was also reported in mid-2014 that SQU planned to establish a Confucius Institute. In July 2018, the UAE Ministry of Education announced that it began offering Chinese classes in 100 schools.

Overall, in the realisation of the BRI in the Gulf, the roles of the academics and educational institutions has not only contributed to the growing creation of consent for the initiative, but has also resulted in the rise of pro-China intellectuals and institutions who have been directly or indirectly involved in not only socialising the initiative but also in gathering support from the people.

Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat
Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat
Lecturer at Universitas Islam Indonesia and a researcher on China-Indonesia relations