Southeast Asian languages hold bright prospects for learners in China

KUNMING－When Zhang Weiguo learned that he was selected to do a Burmese major at the Yunnan Minzu University in 2009, he was worried that he might not find a job after graduation.

Zhang, from Southwest China's Yunnan province, was offered a national scholarship to study in Myanmar for roughly a year in 2012.

The experience changed him.

"At first I didn't think my major was a big deal, and thought it was a minority language used by a small population. But during my year in Myanmar, I made quite a lot of friends, and got to know the country and its people better," says Zhang.

Even more surprising to him were the multiple job offers he received from a government department, a State-owned bank and a university when he graduated in 2013.

After some thought, he chose to become one of the first Burmese teachers at the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.

Almost all of Zhang's 28 classmates were able to find jobs related to their major.

He says thanks to Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, demand for those who can speak Southeast Asian languages has surged in recent years.

According to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the Second LMC Leaders' Meeting held in Cambodia earlier this month, China is now the largest trading partner of Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, and the second-largest trading partner of Laos.

Zhao Shulan, a research fellow with the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies at the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, says: "Building mutual trust and understanding is the key to the LMC. It requires people who know not only the other countries' languages, but their national conditions, cultures and ways of thinking as well."

And Zhao says systematic language training is indispensable and the most efficient way to achieve the goal.

In 2017, the trade volume between China and the five Mekong countries reached $220 billion, up 16 percent from 2016.

China's total investment in the five countries is more than $42 billion, with a growth rate of more than 20 percent in 2017. And more people are running businesses and building careers in other countries in the region.

Yunnan, which borders Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, has established an intercollegiate committee to promote the teaching and learning of Southeast Asian languages in the province. And a dozen language majors have since been set up, covering as many as 15 languages used in Southeast Asia.

Chen Xiaoyun, a faculty member from the Thai studies program at Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, says: "Studying Thai has given me opportunities to explore the country's politics, economics and culture, and a promising career as well."

To further cultural and educational exchanges between China and Southeast Asia, Premier Li says China will offer short-term training and in-service education to 2,000 people in Lancang-Mekong countries and 100 four-year scholarships for undergraduates in 2018.

Zhang has applied for a master's degree in Southeast Asian studies at the university where he teaches Burmese, the same program his students are enrolled in.

"I will get my master's degree this year together with my students, and I would like to continue doctoral studies in the area," says Zhang.