Despite China’s growing importance in the world, research by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) has concluded that the UK does not have enough knowledge and understanding of China to “make sensible decisions”. The report cited the government’s decision to remove Huawei from UK networks in the light of perceived security risks, which was estimated to cost T 500 million, “a cost that could undoubtedly have been avoided if there had been greater understanding and awareness of China in the United Kingdom. government”. According to Hepi, the number of Chinese students has not increased in the last 25 years and the number of Chinese departments at UK universities offering one-on-one undergraduate degrees has dropped by a third from 13 to nine between 2019 and 2020. In schools, modern China is “largely absent” from the curriculum and most students will not engage with China at all during their studies. Some progress has been made in the study of Mandarin in schools, but the qualifications are “problematic”, says the Hepi report, and the numbers are small. While there is strong research and know-how in universities, it is often the result of hiring specialists from the rest of the world. Chinese experts, meanwhile, face challenges with academic freedom and universities are “not transparent enough” about funding sources. The Hepi report is based on interviews with more than 40 education, government and business experts. The interviewed academics agreed that despite the controversy surrounding the Confucius Institutes, they have played a critical role in teaching Mandarin in the absence of other investment. The report calls on the government to publish a strategy to address what has been described as a “generational challenge” to building literacy in China and the UK, and to consider targeted funding for Chinese studies at universities and investments to help with education. teachers in modules covering modern China. Rana Mitter, a professor of Chinese history and politics at Oxford University, writes in the report: “In a post-Covid world, the way China answers questions about everything from science funding to global supply chains will have a direct impact on the UK. “As in any democratic society, there will be varied views in the British public sphere on how to deal with China. These views are often expressed in a strong way, as is only true in a free society. But these discussions and debates can no longer afford to have a quick and superficial view of China. “The time has come to deepen the debate.” The report’s author, Michael Natzler, added: “Regardless of the level of skepticism or support for China’s activities today, there is a consensus among experts that the United Kingdom does not have enough knowledge and understanding of China to make sensible decisions. “This is an issue that is long overdue.”
