British Chamber China report sees huge opportunity for UK education as ‘natural partner’ in Chinese Belt and Road Initiative 中国英国商会报告指出英国教育作为中国“一带一路”倡议“天然伙伴”的广阔前景

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请按此下载一带一路教育报告

As building trade links beyond Europe becomes increasingly important to the UK’s future, a new report outlines ‘myriad opportunities’ for the British education industry in China’s multi-trillion-dollar initiative.

The BritCham China report “Education on the Belt and Road” which has now been translated into Chinese, blazes a trail through what is undeniably a highly complex and sometimes nebulous vista of economic activity. The Belt and Road Initiative, first announced by President Xi Jinping in 2013, states its main aims as promoting ‘regional economic cooperation’, strengthening ‘exchanges and mutual learning between different civilisations’, and promoting ‘world peace and development’. As the report highlights, since its inception, more than 100 countries have participated in the Initiative, and different routes spanning Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean have sprung up with breathtaking rapidity in its 6-year history. A progress report on the Belt and Road released on Monday says that from 2013 to 2018 the value of trade between China and other B&R countries surpassed US$6 trillion.

The good news for the UK is that the mammoth infrastructure, financial and service projects currently underway are opening an ever-increasing array of education opportunities across Belt and Road regions, from setting up international schools in Kazakhstan, to delivering vocational training in Mozambique; from training teachers in Argentina to working to reduce gender inequality in Pakistan. In an exhaustive survey of the different regions involved in the Initiative, the report enumerates for the first time nearly 50 different spheres of opportunity across of a number of sectors within the education industry, an area in which ‘the UK has demonstrated a reputation for excellence’. These spheres of opportunity cover a wide range of different sectors of the industry but can be broadly aligned to the Chinese Ministry of Education’s commitment to develop ‘people-to-people bonds’, ‘cultivate supporting talent’ and ‘achieve common development’.

The report makes the case that the UK and China are ’natural partners in education’, highlighting the unprecedented recent successes of UK-China education collaboration, and citing a flurry of recent political and diplomatic activity between China and the UK relating to the industry. In the past half year, a number of UK-China Belt and Road collaborations have already begun to take shape, including:

• An MoU between the Tao Xingzhi Committee and UK National Recognition Information Centre set up the Belt and Road International Vocational Education Initiative, providing consultancy for Chinese vocational colleges who plan to work with foreign providers.
• An MoU between the University of Cumbria, the UK Skills Partnership Committee and the Shaanxi Energy Institute to cooperate on a number of projects including jointly running schools schools with double academic qualifications, setting up Sino-British modern apprenticeship colleges, carrying out teacher training, and serving the development and construction of countries along the
• A British Council ‘UK-China BRI Countries Partnership Fund Grants Program’ that earmarked £430,000 in 2018/2019 for supporting multi-lateral higher education links between the UK, China, and Belt and Road Countries.
• A ‘Belt and Road Forum for CN-UK Educational Cooperation’ in Beijing.

Though the British government has yet to formally endorse the BRI, a number of high-level members of government from both countries have touted the UK as a ‘natural’ fit for the Initiative, including British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond and Chinese Ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming. Xinhua, the state news platform in China said in September, “By taking an active part in BRI projects, Britain will benefit itself while helping the projects to maintain high standards, high quality and high rewards. It will serve as a role model and provide a roadmap for other Western countries in BRI cooperation.” Phillip Hammond is scheduled to attend the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation this week.

There have been questions raised in some quarters (most recently Malaysia) about the long-term benefits of BRI projects on participating countries, and along with identifying BRI education opportunities, the report also proposes the ‘BritCham BRI Benchmarks’, a set of standards that are designed to be incorporated by education organisations participating in the BRI. The nine benchmarks aim to ensure high standards and rigour, fiscal responsibility and opportunity, as well as sustainability and ethics in all existing and future BRI education projects.

Some interesting takeaways from the report

• BRI is increasingly not based on geographical routes but becoming almost a catch-all term for Chinese trade policy abroad
• Girls’ and women’s education and entrepreneurial education are growing areas in the MoE’s work towards ‘achieving common development’
• Opportunities for third party involvement from the UK exist in the greater proportion of the 100+ countries involved in the BRI
• The UK has a particularly strong track record with TVET and TNEs.  Currently the UK has TNE partnerships in all but 14 countries worldwide
• The UK’s global reputation for curriculum, qualifications, higher education and training have made these particularly strong areas for current and future collaborations
• Although involvement in many educational areas is already underway, and projects involving student exchanges and TNE partnerships in particular are in some cases well-advanced, the potential scope for future projects is vastly greater and could lead to a meaningful boost for the UK education industry
• The UK could have a significant role to play in ensuring ethical standards and assuring quality in BRI projects – and helping to further the ambitiously positive development goals intrinsic to China’s BRI narrative

Julian Fisher, Education Forum Chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in China, said ‘This report is the first of its kind and will dramatically change how UK education organisations both understand and approach the Belt and Road. We heard from our members that they were confused, and we have responded with a report that is both comprehensive in its scope but also deeply practical in the potential opportunities it highlights and benchmarks it lays out for success. We have no doubt that this document will form the basis for all UK education companies (and hopefully Chinese companies) looking to engage with the Belt and Road Initiative in future.’

William Vanbergen, Education Forum Chair of the British Chamber of Commerce Shanghai, said ‘The interesting opportunity for China-based education companies is to follow along with the government’s Belt and Road plan and establish profitable operations that help promote cultural and educational exchange.’

Matt Ryan, Education Forum Chair of The British Chamber of Commerce Southwest China, said, ‘With Southwest China very much a part of both the original Silk Road, as well the Belt and Road Initiative, this in-depth report provides much information on what was previously a surprisingly scarcely published area.’

Peter Tsang, Education Forum Chair of the British Chamber of Commerce Guangdong said ‘BRI has vast potential in bringing continents together through equality and sustainability, whilst culturing future talents into the next century. Seize the opportunity, embrace the challenge and celebrate the change.’

Click here to view full report.

For further questions, please contact education@britishchamber.cn

中国英国商会报告指出英国教育作为中国“一带一路”倡议“天然伙伴”的广阔前景

随着在欧洲以外建立贸易联系对英国未来发展变得愈加重要，中国英国商会在其最新发布的这份报告中描绘了这个由中国发起的数万亿美元计划将为英国教育产业带来的“无数机遇”。

中国英国商会不久之前发布的《“一带一路”教育报告》现已推出中文译本，为研究和分析这个高度复杂、规模庞大的经济活动开辟了新视角。习近平主席于2013年首次提出了“一带一路”倡议，旨在促进“区域经济合作”，加强“不同文明交流与互鉴”，促进“世界和平与发展”。正如报告内容所强调的那样，自“一带一路”倡议实施建立以来，已有100多个国家参与到其中，在短短六年的发展过程中，其范围已经覆盖到亚洲、非洲、欧洲、拉丁美洲和加勒比地区。周一发布的“一带一路”发展报告中可以看到这样的数据，从2013年到2018年，中国与其他“一带一路”沿线国家之间的贸易总额已经超过6万亿美元。

目前正在进行的规模庞大的基础设施、金融和服务项目正在为“一带一路”国家和地区提供越来越多的教育机会，这些对英国而言都是非常令人鼓舞的信息，无论是从哈萨克斯坦建立的国际学校到莫桑比克提供的职业培训，还是从阿根廷教师培训项目以及减少巴基斯坦性别不平等所付出的种种努力。在我们对倡议范畴涉及的不同地区所进行的详细调查中，报告首次列出了教育行业中多个领域所蕴含的近50种不同范围的机遇，而且都是“英国展现出卓越声望”的领域。这些机遇涵盖了整个行业的各个不同领域，并契合了中国教育部教育“促进民心相通”、“提供人才支撑”和“实现共同发展”的共同愿景。

报告生动地阐述了中英两国在“教育领域天然伙伴”的关系，同时聚焦了近期中英教育合作过程中所获得的巨大成功，并列举了两国近期教育行业的一系列的政治和外交活动。 在过去的半年当中，中英两国“一带一路”的合作发展已经初具规模，其中包括：

• 英国国家学术认证中心与陶行知委员会签署了关于“一带一路”职业教育的合作备忘录，为希望与外国服务供应商合作的中国职业院校提供国际教育与合作培训以及项目评审和筹划服务。
• 英国坎布里亚大学、英国技能伙伴关系委员会和陕西能源职业技术学院签订谅解备忘录，推动中英双学历合作办学、中英现代学徒制学院、师资交流培训、学生交流等项目，服务“一带一路”沿线国家的发展建设。
• 英国文化教育协会的“英中“一带一路”倡议国家合作基金资助计划”，分别与2018、2019年拨款430,000英镑，用于支持英国、中国以及“一带一路”延线国家之间的高等教育多边合作。
• “一带一路”中英教育合作论坛在北京举行。

尽管英国政府尚未正式书面支持“一带一路”倡议，但两国政府中的许多高级官员都对英国是中国“一带一路”倡议“天然伙伴”这一提法推崇备至，这其中就包括英国财政大臣 Philip Hammond和中国驻英国大使刘晓明。中国官方新闻平台新华社在其9月份的报道中称，“英国在共建“一带一路”向更高标准、更高质量、更高收益发展过程中受益。英国将成为示范者，并为其他西方国家提供“一带一路”合作的路线图。” Phillip Hammond计划于本周参加在北京举办的第二届“一带一路”国际合作高峰论坛。

就一些国家地区（近期的马来西亚）对“一带一路”倡议项目如何保障参与国长期利益所提出的质疑，以及辨识“一带一路”倡议带来的教育机遇问题，报告专门用最后一个章节的篇幅提出了中国英国商会“一带一路”倡议评估标准，这套标主要针对的是参与“一带一路”倡议教育组织和机构，其九大标准目的在于确保现有和未来的“一带一路”倡议教育项目的高标准与严谨性、财政责任与机遇以及可持续性和道德。

报告中的一些有趣看点：

• 随着“一带一路”倡议的发展，其含义范畴已经逐渐超出了传统的地域限制，而且几乎成为中国对外贸易政策的代名词
• 女童和妇女教育和创新创业教育是教育部“实现共同发展”共同愿景的重点领域
• 在参与“一带一路”倡议的100多个国家中，英国的第三方参与机会占比较大
• 英国在职业技术教育与培训和跨国教育领域取得了巨大成功。目前全世界仅剩14个国家没有与英国建立跨国教育合作关系。
• 英国在课程、资格证书、高等教育和培训方面所享有的全球声誉，为其目前和未来在这些领域开展合作奠定了良好的基础。
• 尽管许多教育领域的合作已经开展，尤其是一些涉及学生交流和跨国教育伙伴关系的项目在某些情况下已经获得了非常不错的发展，但是未来项目的潜在合作范围更加广阔，并有可能对英国教育行业起到有意义的推动作用。
• 英国能够在确保“一带一路”倡议项目的道德标准和品质方面发挥重要的作用，并有助于推动中国“一带一路”倡议中与生俱来的宏伟发展目标。

中国英国商会教育论坛主席Julian Fisher先生说到：“这份报告填补了此类报告的空白，将极大地改变英国教育组织和机构对“一带一路”倡议的看法并加深合作。商会成员曾向我们表达过他们对于“一带一路”倡议的不少困惑，所以我们精心准备了这份报告作为解答，无论从阐述的范围，还是突出其极具实用性的潜在机遇以及助力企业成功的评估标准，报告的内容都做到了全面而详实。毫无疑问，本报告将成为所有英国教育公司（同样希望中国企业）在未来发展过程中参与“一带一路”倡议的坚实基础。

上海英国商会教育论坛主席William Vanbergen表示：“立足于中国的教育公司面临着一个有趣的机会，能够搭乘中国政府推出的“一带一路”计划顺风车，在建立有利于促进文化和教育交流业务的同时实现经济利益。”

中国英国西南商会的教育论坛主席Matt Ryan说，“西南地区是古代丝绸之路的一部分，如今也在“一带一路”倡议的路线图上，这篇深度报告为我们揭示了很多令人称赞而且从未在公众媒体领域接触过的信息。”

广东省英国商会教育论坛主席Peter Tsang表示，“一带一路”倡议通过平等和可持续发展将各大洲聚集在一起，与此同时为下一个世纪储备培养各种人才。所以一定要抓住机遇，拥抱挑战，庆祝变革。”

报告全文链接：

https://britishchamber.cn/en/britcham-report-education-on-the-belt-and-road/

如有疑问，敬请联系：

education@britishchamber.cn