(Source:《Global Times》 2025-10-14）
In Malawi, a landlocked country in East Africa, a land named the "Warm Heart of Africa" due to its warm climate and simple folk customs, an innovative development experiment on "Chinese+" is quietly bearing fruit, becoming a hot spot for a new model of China-Africa cooperation.
In the experimental field of China's aid to Malaysia's agricultural technology team, a group of local students gathered around a small harvester made in China and listened intently to the teacher's explanation. This is not an ordinary agricultural technology training, nor a traditional Chinese classroom, but the site of the innovative “Chinese + Agriculture” teaching model of the Confucius Institute at the University of Malawi. Students personally come into contact with agricultural machinery and equipment, observe crop growth, learn professional Chinese vocabulary in real agricultural scenes, and understand Chinese farming wisdom.
“By learning Chinese, I not only mastered language skills, but also developed a strong interest in Chinese agricultural technology.” Crispin Kanwendo, majoring in development economics at the University of Malawi, said. This is a vivid portrayal of the effectiveness of the “Chinese + Vocational” education model. Nowadays, graduates like him who understand both professional knowledge and the Chinese language have become talents that local Chinese-funded companies are eager to recruit.
This innovative practice stems from the increasingly close cooperative relationship between China and Malaysia. In his congratulatory message to Malawi's newly elected President Mutharika, President Xi Jinping emphasized that China and Malawi are "good friends and partners who are sincere, friendly and supportive of each other." As an important carrier of friendly cooperation between the two countries, the Confucius Institute at the University of Malawi has developed into an educational network with 5 teaching sites and 2 Chinese language and culture resource centers since its establishment in 2016, providing Chinese education services to more than 700 registered students every year.
However, teachers at the Confucius Institute have discovered in practice that traditional language teaching is far from meeting the needs of local development. Although pure language learning can enhance cultural understanding, it is difficult to provide students with a direct career development path. This prompted them to explore new ways to combine Chinese teaching with vocational skills development.
The Malawi model of “Chinese + Agriculture” came into being. This innovative model breaks the limitations of traditional language teaching and extends the classroom to experimental fields and agricultural technology demonstration centers built with China's aid. This "learning to apply" teaching method not only stimulates students' interest in learning and enhances their perception, but also opens up a new career development channel for them. Some graduates have thus embarked on the path of coming to China to study, returning to China for construction after completing their studies, and injecting new vitality into Malawi's agricultural development.
More importantly, this successful practice provides a new paradigm for China-Africa cooperation. Across the African continent, many countries face similar development challenges: how to transform natural resources into a driver of economic development, and how to cultivate professionals who understand both international and technological skills. The practice of "Chinese + Agriculture" in Malawi shows that combining language learning with specific industry development needs can produce twice the result with half the effort.
Language is the best key to understanding a country. Learning Chinese helps foreign young people understand the ancient civilization codes behind the language and the rapid development and tremendous changes in modern China's economy and society. These foreign faces who speak fluent Chinese and are active in different countries and fields are becoming a beautiful scenery in the new era and a bridge and link connecting China and the world. For example, Canwendo’s dream is to combine Chinese skills with an economics background to promote economic cooperation and cross-cultural exchanges between Malaysia and China. This concept of combining personal growth with national development is exactly the higher goal that the “Chinese + Vocational” education model hopes to achieve. As China-Malaysia cooperation gradually deepens, Malawi will usher in new development opportunities, and the expansion of disciplines will also cultivate more comprehensive talents, opening up a broader space for China-Malaysia and even China-Africa cooperation.
In the "Warm Heart of Africa", Chinese education is building a bridge connecting the hearts of China and Africa in its unique way. This bridge not only conveys language and culture, but also carries development concepts and practical skills, providing new possibilities for more African young people to realize their life dreams. Malawi’s practice tells us that true win-win cooperation comes from a deep understanding of each other’s needs and from innovative and pragmatic project design. As more and more young Africans find new paths for career development by learning Chinese, and China-Africa cooperation bears fruit through such concrete projects, the concept of "One World, One Family" has taken root in this land of Africa.
Attached original text link:https://opinion.huanqiu.com/article/4OiREd9fgrL
