It was an amusing experience. Whenever our van stopped in what seemed to be an empty wasteland, within minutes children would appear from between the shrubs. It would not be long before they would surround our van, curious and smiling.
They were clearly not wealthy children. They wore no shoes, and their clothes were often worn, and either several seizes too big or too small. Some were clearly malnourished. But what surprised me most was that with many of the children, we were able to communicate quite well in English, although this was not their mother tongue or even one of their national languages. As we drove further into the highlands of East Africa, I noticed the little schools, dotted across the hills, supported by USAID.
As part of their curriculum, these children were learning English. It seemed a good investment. It would open the door for them to countless resources and connections in the future, but it would also draw them into the sphere of influence of the English-speaking world. This would pave the way for future business relations and diplomatic connections. It was an example of soft power, a way in which rich Western nations can grow their influence beyond their own borders.
But that was several years ago. The balance of power is shifting, and China is taking a page out of this ‘soft power’ play book. Along with enormous investments in infrastructure, China is investing in education in countries along the silk roads, especially in Mandarin language education. They also offer scholarships for students from these countries to study in Chinese universities. For many in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, this is a golden opportunity to get an education they could never afford and perhaps land a good job, for example as a translator for Chinese businesses.
As Western education has long helped to shape minds from international students in favour of Western values (for better and for worse) these hundreds of thousands of young people studying in China will be influenced by Chinese values and political ideas.
As well as a political side, there is a spiritual side to these developments. In the past, and even today, teaching English has been a great way to gain access to many closed nations. Because even when nations were weary of “Western” religion, they were still interested in Western money. To get access to economic and scientific opportunities, people needed to speak English. Teaching English gave many openings to teach about culture, including the Christian roots of Western societies and it allowed missionaries to share their lives with students and give testimony to the gospel.
But now that Mandarin Chinese is becoming increasingly important for the economic development of countries in the Global South, Chinese missionaries seize the opportunity. Along the Silk Roads, language schools have popped up where young people learn Chinese, but also have an opportunity to learn about Jesus. These schools afford stable visa platforms which Chinese missionaries can use to be in the country long term, and they help supply an income for them.
Interest in Chinese language and culture provides a bridge which missionaries from China use to tell their students about the God in which so many millions of Chinese believe. These missionaries often do not teach at prestigious universities, but at small schools, not unlike the schools I saw in the highlands of East Africa. In the margins of political and economic power shifts, they raise a new generation of Chinese speakers, and a generation of new citizens of the Kingdom of God.
