Exploring China-Malaysia Educational Cooperation within the Context of BRI

Abstract

Under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework, a wide range of policies and measures aimed at fostering international educational cooperation and exchange have been gradually introduced and implemented. With many successes, China-Malaysia cooperation and exchanges are thriving in fields such as higher education, vocational education, and international Chinese language instruction. For example, Xiamen University Malaysia, the first branch campus of a well-known Chinese university to be established overseas, became a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative. Many vocational education cooperation projects have set a model for cooperation among countries in the Global South. Discovering the focus of bilateral educational cooperation between China and Malaysia under a specific policy context, finding the rules and needs of bilateral cooperation, and summarizing good experiences and practices will help to form long-term mechanisms for educational exchange and further promote the quality of education and cultural exchange. This research aims to explore the mechanisms, projects, and achievements of China-Malaysia educational cooperation since the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed in 2012, to identify the characteristics and patterns, and to summarize the cooperation experience. This study performed in-depth interviews with 12 primary employees involved in international educational exchange and collaboration, based on China's and Malaysia's policies on international educational cooperation. This research does not extend its scope to examine bilateral cooperation at other levels of education. Instead, it focuses on international collaboration in higher education and vocational training programs. Consequently, the research is limited in narrowing its investigation to these specific domains. According to this research, several avenues and diversification traits exist for China-Malaysia educational collaboration. Corporate apprenticeship programs, international student education, and cooperative higher education have raised educational standards in both nations and served as a catalyst for the growth of bilateral commerce and economic cooperation.

Keywords: China-Malaysia Relations; the Belt and Road Initiative; Educational Cooperation