A teacher attending training at Tianjin Normal University practices their skills in a trial class. The training is for 175 primary and middle school Chinese language teachers who will begin their careers in Saudi Arabia this year. They will become the first batch of Chinese language teachers to serve in Saudi Arabia, honoring the commitment to an agreement to enhance cooperation in Chinese language education between the two countries made in 2023. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

For the first time, 175 Chinese language teachers will begin teaching at primary and middle schools in Saudi Arabia in mid-August. The program is part of an agreement made between the two countries in 2023 to enhance cooperation in Chinese language education.

The teachers completed a pre-service training at Tianjin Normal University that ran from July 29-Aug 2.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Education and the Center for Language Education and Cooperation under China's Ministry of Education jointly organized the training with the university.

This initiative highlights the collaborative efforts to implement agreements between the leaderships of China and Saudi Arabia in 2022, strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries.

According to the website of Cankao Xiaoxi, a newspaper under Xinhua News Agency, Saudi Arabia will open Chinese language classes in middle schools.

According to jiaohanyu.com, a website offering Chinese language teaching programs and job opportunities, 800 such teaching positions will eventually be filled.