Authors

Gulnara Dadabayeva¹; Chi Zhang²;  ¹ KIMEP University, Kazakhstan;  ² University of St Andrews, UK

Discussion

What opportunities and challenges are arising from China’s education diplomacy in Kazakhstan?

The strategic importance of Central Asia to China is clear given that it is the destination for Xi Jinping to visit for the first time since COVID-19. For over a decade, China has been providing funding for Kazakhstani students to receive education in China under the banner of the Belt and Road Initiative and within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Drawing on surveys and interviews conducted in three universities in Kazakhstan, this paper argues that Kazakhstani students have not benefited from Sino-Kazakhstan education cooperation as much as anticipated. First, there is a lack of interests among students to pursue education in science and technology, expertise that is in a higher demand given Kazakhstan’s attempts to diversify its economy. Second, Chinese language remains a significant barrier for Kazakh students to achieve good academic results. These findings demonstrate limited success for both countries in providing emerging enterprises with employable Kazakhs with Chinese education.