The Role of Institutional Linkages and Regional Institutions in the Location Choice of Outward Foreign Direct Investment: Empirical Evidence from Chinese Firms

Differently from the prior studies that look at the determinants of Outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) location choice, based on the institution theory and employing a comprehensive and unique micro-level dataset of Chinese firms, this study is the first to integrate institutional linkages (Confucius Institute) and regional institutions into one framework and looks at the role of the location choices of Chinese OFDI. The results show that Chinese firms prefer to invest in countries with the presence and higher number of Confucius Institutes including Confucius classrooms. Moreover, the institutional linkage of Confucius Institutes can alleviate the possible negative effects caused by the distance between China and the host country, which suggests Confucius Institutes help Chinese firms against liabilities of foreignness and risks and costs of operation in more distant host countries. We also find that the availability and quality of China’s regional institutions have a strong impact on local firms’ willingness and capability of participating.

Learning Chinese in Vietnam: The Role of the Confucius Institute

Southeast Asian countries have always been one of the priority regions of the Chinese foreign policy due both to the geographic proximity and to the long historical and cultural connections and new forms of economic and trade cooperation which have been formed on that basis. Vietnam supports close interaction with its northern neighbour not only in the Party matters, but also in the trade and economic, agricultural, tourism, educational, medical, and other spheres. Naturally, this suggests intense learning of the Chinese language on a large scale. China, in its turn, is interested in maintenance and increase of its positive image among the countries of Southeast Asia. That is why China applies various methods and tools of nonforce pressure, which are known as cultural soft power. One of these tools is the Confucius Institute (Classes). China considered it the site of promotion of the Chinese language and Chinese culture abroad. From the outside, Vietnam and China appear to move toward each other in the matter of teaching and learning Chinese, but the reality shows that the Vietnamese side is not hastening to join the Chinese initiative, striving to control the situation, and does not let the Chinese side expand the Confucius Institutes network in Vietnam. Also, the analysis of the situation has shown the insignificant role of the Confucius Institutes in teaching the Chinese language.

Three’s Company: China and Taiwan Vying for Mandarin Education in India

With decades of stupendous growth and political détente between India and China, Mandarin has become an important human capital for Indians. India clearly shows a preference of Taiwan over China, when mediated between them for different Mandarin resources, even before the epidemic and Sino-India border conflicts. Recently, there have been suggestions to replace Confucius Institutes with Taiwanese institutions, and Taiwan has urged for strengthening cooperation with India in Mandarin education. This paper aims to discuss the feasibility for Taiwan Education Centre to monopolize the Mandarin education market of India. Through data collection and detailed analysis of literature by scholars of Taiwan, China and India, this paper argues that Taiwan alone is incapable of occupying the whole Indian market due to the inadequacy of Mandarin teaching resources and complex tripartite political relations. Moreover, the current trilateral strategies adopted by China, India and Taiwan dissuade the common interests. We propose a customization, cooperation and supervision model to advance Mandarin education in India, and further analyze the feasibility and potential resistance towards the cooperation. This paper is helpful to understanding the Chinese teaching situation in India. It addresses a timely question and offers possible resolution not only to India but also to other countries who are skeptical of Confucius Institutes.

China’s Humanistic Zhong-Yong Approach to Educational Partnerships for International Development in Post-Covid-19: Confucian and Ubuntu Perspectives on Confucius Institutes and Classrooms in Africa

Based on broad observations of the development of Confucius Institutes and Classrooms in Africa over a decade, this article focuses on educational partnerships between Chinese and African educational institutions and their implications for international development, as they relate to international development in the era of post-Covid-19. The author identifies the Confucian Zhong-Yong approach to educational partnerships through Confucius Institutes and Classrooms in Africa, a pragmatic model for educational development centered on Confucianism. Three core characteristics of Confucian educational partnerships – demand-driven, ethics-based and pragmatic – are seen as the key to the success of such partnerships. Reflecting on Ubuntu from a Confucian perspective, the author concludes that China’s humanistic Zhong-Yong approach to partnerships has a unique potential to re-envision education for international development in ways that may be of interest to such international developmental agencies as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the World Bank, and the United Nations.

China's Confucius Institute in Africa: a different story?

PurposeChina's Confucius Institutes (CIs) have been under increasing scrutiny in the West while their development in Africa has been steady and strong. This article aims to examine the establishment, operation and effects of this institute in Africa, and discuss its role in a wider context of education, development and China's foreign policy towards Africa.Design/methodology/approachThis empirical research is a case study of China's Confucius Institutes in Africa. Fieldwork data was collected in China and seven CIs in four African countries.FindingsThis research found that the CIs were not just Chinese language and culture promotion organisations in Africa. Rather, they played a deeper and more profound role in training local individuals, involving them in different forms of Chinese presence in Africa and linking their own personal development with the rise of China. In that sense, this article argues that the CI plays a positive role in promoting China's soft power and national interest in Africa. This article also highlights the problems of the institute's operational mode, and casts doubt on some aspects of its future development.Originality/valueThis research systematically examines the establishment, operation and effects of the CIs in Africa, in an attempt to understand the real role of this institute in China's foreign policy towards Africa and demonstrate the uniqueness of the situation of the CIs in Africa.