On Cooperation between Northeast China and the Russian Far East in the Field of Education (1990-2022)

Se Fenling PhD in History Postgraduate, Department of Altaistics and Chinese, Kazan (Volga) Federal University 420008, Russia, Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan, Kremlevskaya str., 18 fenlin.se@mail.ru Other publications by this author

With the development of China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative, Russian-Chinese humanitarian exchanges are moving to a new level, especially in the field of university cooperation. Despite the fact that the coronavirus pandemic and related border crossing restrictions have a negative impact on international contacts, in 2020 more than 42 thousand Chinese students studying in Russia, 14 thousand Russian students are studying in China ^[14].

China and Russia are the largest neighbors. Most of the common border – more than 4,300 kilometers – is located in Northeastern China and the Russian Far East. Excellent geographical conditions have laid an important foundation for cooperation in the field of education.

In historiography there are few works of Russian and Chinese researchers M.S. Kovanov ^[4], E.I. Medyanik ^[6], V.M. Filippov ^[10], L.I. Efremova ^[3], Yu Zixia ^[13], in which the history of the development of cooperation in the field of education of both states – Russia and China was studied. Currently, there are only some small works by V. L. Larin ^[5], O. N. Risukhina ^[7], L. A. Gorobets ^[1], V. V. Gorchakov ^[2], A. A. Khamatova ^[11] on the history of university education in the adjacent regions of the two countries in the period under review, they emphasized the key factors contributing to the stable development of bilateral humanitarian exchanges and showed the main directions and results of cooperation between the Russian Far East and the Northeastern region of China. Chinese studies on university cooperation between China and Russia in related fields are reflected in the works of Tao Li ^[15] and Lu Jingjing ^[16], who analyzed the current situation in the field of humanitarian cooperation between the Northeast of China and the Russian Far East, some factors limiting its development, and also put forward proposals to strengthen bilateral contacts. At the same time, there are practically no scientific articles that specifically analyze the process of university interactions in the Russian-Chinese border regions.

The source base of this material is represented by a set of documents: firstly, the materials of the Current Archive of FEFU (Orders of the Rector of FEFU, reports on the work of the faculty, reports on the main results of FEFU international activities for the 1990s and 2010s); secondly, the official websites of universities in related areas of Russia and China.

          In the 90s of the XX century. With the normalization of Soviet-Chinese political and economic relations, humanitarian ties between the two countries were also restored, during this period for the Far Eastern region of Russia, V. I. Kurilov became the rector of DVSU. The university management has chosen an internationalization policy so that the university takes a prestigious place in the global educational environment in a short time. To this end, active actions were taken to establish international contacts with foreign universities, primarily with Chinese ones.

Heilongjiang University (Harbin), Liaoning University (Shenyang), Dalian Institute of Foreign Languages (Dalian), Harbin University of Science and Technology and other universities of the People's Republic of China were the first Chinese universities with which international contacts were established for teachers and students to undergo scientific and language internships ^[1].

Since the 2010s, the development of international cooperation of the Far Eastern University has started with the receipt of federal status by the university. FEFU continues to implement the Visiting Professors program, subordinated to the creation and development of an international academic mobility system. As a result, in 2018, 34 scientific and pedagogical workers of the People's Republic of China gave lectures and conducted practical classes at the university. It is worth highlighting joint summer and winter schools: FEFU Summer School-Harbin Polytechnic University; ICE Mechanics Winter School and others.

At the same time, some other universities in the Far East are also actively preparing for the opening of new centers for the training of Sinologists. The Ussuri Pedagogical Institute began training Chinese language teachers in 1989, and subsequently many Far Eastern universities opened Chinese language courses. In 1995 The Technical University has started training teachers of the Chinese language. A year later, Chinese began to be taught at the University of Economics and Service of Vladivostok. In Blagoveshchensk, Amur Region, Chinese is taught at the Pedagogical University and Amur State University (AmSU). In 1996, the Department of Chinese Studies was established in the latter to train personnel in the specialty "Regional Studies (Oriental Studies)" with the specialization "Chinese studies". In Komsomolsk-on-Amur, since 2003, Chinese has been taught as a second foreign language at the Faculty of Linguistics and Cultural Studies of KnAGTU.

In addition, the universities of the region have formed their own methodological base for the training of translators. Many universities in the Far East offer Chinese language courses. The Far Eastern Federal University is the largest educational and scientific center for the study of China in the Far East and the third training center for sinologists in Russia.

In the Far Eastern region of Russia, great importance is attached to the training of Chinese language specialists and sinologists, and the local government actively conducts and promotes work on teaching Chinese. Largely due to the opening of the Chinese Language Center (2000) and the FEFU Confucius Institute (2006), the best participants of the regional Chinese language and culture competition were encouraged to travel to China. The Faculty of Chinese Studies of the Far Eastern University has been doing a lot of work since the 1990s to train Sinologists, so the number of beginning Chinese students traveling to China every year is increasing, and accordingly the number of Chinese universities accepting them. For example, in 1999 33 people left, in 2000 – 53 people, in 2001 – 57 people, in 2002 – 77 people. They were accepted by the following universities in the Northeast of China: Dalian University of Foreign Languages, Liaoning Pedagogical University, Harbin Polytechnic University, etc.^[2]

In 2007, the second Confucius Institute in the Far East was established at the Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical University. In 2008 The Confucius Institute at the Far Eastern State University has created a translation center to provide translation services to countries, enterprises and individual organizations. In 2010, the first Confucius Institute in the Khabarovsk Territory was also established in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Within the framework of the "One Belt and One Road" initiative, Confucius Institutes play an important role in promoting regional humanitarian cooperation. In recent years, Confucius Institutes in the Russian Far East have been actively studying new learning models, gradually developing their own models of "Chinese language + specialty".

Since 2018, more than 17 thousand secondary school students in 24 regions of Russia have mastered Chinese, of which about a fifth are high school students. Currently, in Russia, Chinese is included in the list of subjects taken in the form of the Unified State Exam. Some of the political measures taken in Russia have also stimulated the interest of Russians in learning the Chinese language and Chinese culture. In recent years, humanitarian cooperation in the field of education in the neighboring regions of China and Russia has brought fruitful results. Secondary school students in the Far East can choose educational organizations that teach Chinese. Thus, in the Amur Region, both public schools and private educational institutions attract native Chinese teachers to organize training. Some representatives of the Russian business community also support Russians in learning Chinese, provide financial assistance to Russian students, and a research base of foreign languages in the field of primary and secondary education has been created.

The Russian Far East actively promotes the study of the Chinese language, and the development of the Russian language is the main requirement for humanitarian cooperation in the neighboring regions of China and Russia. Primary and secondary schools offering Russian language courses in Heilongjiang Province are mainly concentrated in the cities of Harbin, Heihe, Suifenhe, Jiamusi and others, in Jilin Province – in Changchun.

Currently, 173 universities in China have Russian language courses, 40 of them operate in Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces. Some practical courses are taught by native Russian teachers who came from the Russian Far East. Russian Russian Russian Russian Russian Russian grammar, calligraphy, colloquial speech, business Russian, translation into Russian, as well as the study of Russian history, geography, Russian language are distinguished among such courses from the point of view of professional training of students, universities of Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, which, as a rule, offer intensive reading in Russian, audiovisual Russian language courses, courses of Russian grammar, calligraphy, colloquial speech, business Russian, translation into Russian, as well as the study of Russian history, geography, Russian literature, Russian national traditions and culture. Russian Russian Russian Russian speakers teach some of them, for example, intensive reading in Russian, oral Russian, audiovisual Russian language course, on the study of Russian national traditions and culture.

Russian language and literature, Russian studies, translation, etc. can be distinguished among the specialties and areas of higher education under the master's degree program in the universities under consideration. The total duration of training is three years. Russian Russian and Literature disciplines usually include courses such as Russian linguistics, Russian literature, regional and country studies, translation studies, comparative literature and intercultural studies. "Russian Studies" is a research–oriented specialty that involves the study of a complex of disciplines: politics, economics, geography, humanities and society related to the Russian state. In some universities, Russian studies and regional studies courses are similar in content. The training in the specialty "Translator" mainly involves the study of oral and written translation into Russian, within its framework more attention is paid to the development of applied skills of students.

In order to create conditions for more active promotion of the "One Belt and One Road" initiative, Chinese and Russian universities have created 12 of their international associations. Among them, the only international alliance of universities in China and Russia is the Association of Universities of the Far East and Siberia of Russia and the Northeastern Provinces of China (AVRIK). Among its participants: from the Chinese side – Heilongjiang University, Inner Mongolia University, Northeastern Agricultural University, Changchun University, etc.; from the Russian side – Northeastern Federal University, Blagoveshchensk State Model University, etc. The meeting of the executive committee of the Association is held mainly to discuss and summarize issues such as innovative development, quality assurance and evaluation of university education in the neighboring regions of China and Russia.

The preparation of students in the specialty "Russian language" at Heihe University began one of the first among the groups of specialties declared in the Sino-Russian joint Bachelor's degree program approved by the Ministry of Education of China. Heihe University has established cooperation relations with Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical University, universities annually exchange students who go to winter and summer camps, conduct long-term training and joint training of undergraduates.

Heilongjiang University has close academic ties with Russian universities. One of the directions of its cooperation with Russian higher educational institutions is the joint training of undergraduates. Heilongjiang University and the Far Eastern Federal University also cooperate in the preparation of graduate students, the university of Heilongjiang Province actively exchanges teachers and students with Russian universities. In addition, the Far Eastern Federal University for the first time organized a semester-long program of educational practice for the BRICS countries, in which students from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa jointly studied in the specialties "International Relations", "Medicine", "Cybersecurity", they conducted joint research on international business projects in the field of management, the study of the aquatic ecosystem, as well as measures were developed to strengthen dialogue and mutual understanding within the BRICS. As of January 2020, a total of about 20 Chinese students have been selected to participate in the curriculum. Due to the outbreak of a new coronavirus infection, the internship program was changed to an online format.

Within the framework of bilateral agreements, international conferences and symposiums are held, regular meetings of the executive committee of the Association of Universities of Northeast China and the Far East and Siberia, the Forum of Rectors of Universities of China and Russia, which are also attended by teachers from universities of the border regions of China and Russia. Universities of the border territories of the PRC, which train Russian students, support the call of the Ministry of Education and educational associations to actively use their geographical advantages to expand academic exchanges and cooperation within the framework of research projects, for more intensive Chinese-Russian language and cultural interaction, keeping pace with the promotion of the "One Belt and One Road" initiative. The exchange between teachers and young students of both sides, the expansion of areas of joint use of educational resources and cultural interaction are actively supported.

^[1] Report on the receptions of foreign delegations to DVSU for 1992

^[2] The current FEFU archive. Orders of the rector of DVSU; reports on the work of the faculty.