September 4 witnessed the arrival of a batch of African international students at Tianjin University. 

Yi Yongsheng, a new enrollee at Tianjin University, is from Burkina Faso. He said, agriculture plays a significant role in Burkina Faso and China has made great advances in that field. Majoring in Chemical Engineering and Technology, he wants to bring “Chinese Experience” back to his country. As Tianjin University is strong in chemical engineering and technology, through studying here he wants to contribute to the improvement of agricultural production in his homeland. 

“Many companies in Burkina Faso in the fields of construction, agriculture and energy hope to send people to China for cooperation and learning.” Ai Weili said. As a second-year student of an Environmental Engineering and Technology major, he recently attended the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation where he served as a translator for some of his country’s companies. 

Ai Weili told the reporter that he once worried about not adapting to eating habits here before he came to China. Then he found that not only was there a halal canteen at the university, but also the ingredients and cooking methods share some similarities with that of his homeland. “The flavor of some dishes is quite like ours and give me a sense of familiarity.” he said. 

Claude, from Cameroon, came to Tianjin in 2013. Now, he has a new identity --- a PhD. student. 

“When I first came to China, I thought everyone in China knew Kung Fu.” Recalling the original scene, this robust young man could not help laughing. Claude loved Wushu (martial arts) and at once looked forward to learning it after coming to China. In his third year in China, Claude won the silver medal in the free combat competition at the 10th Dalian International Wushu Culture Festival. 

Claude majors in Business Administration. He said, with China and Africa having more and more economic and trade cooperation, he hopes to be engaged in attracting investment work after graduation and help more domestic companies come to China for cooperation. 

Claude is the beneficiary of the Chinese government scholarship. While studying at Tianjin University, he can enjoy a regular monthly subsidy with his tuition fees being waived. 

Chen Zhihua, Dean of the School of International Education at Tianjin University, explained: “Tianjin University, has accepted Chinese government scholarship students since 1954 and was one of the first institutions appointed by the Ministry of Education to undertake the training of Chinese government scholarship students.”. 

According to the Ministry of Education, in 2017, more than 480,000 students from 204 countries and regions studied in 935 universities and scientific research institutions in China, of which 88.03% are self-funded students and 11.97% were Chinese government scholarship students. 

In the next three years, China will provide 50,000 government scholarships to Africa students 

and invite 2000 African youth to China for further communication. 

The Chinese government scholarship has played an important role in promoting exchange and cooperation between China and other countries and regions of the world in the fields of education, science and technology, culture, economy and trade and many more.