Educational Diplomacy: Impacts of Pakistan-China Higher Education Mobility under CPEC

Abstract

This research examines how educational diplomacy strengthens Pakistan-China relations within the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Educational diplomacy has become an important area of bilateral cooperation, including academic mobility, scholarships, academic cooperation, cultural exchange, etc., in the higher education sphere. The study discusses the increased educational cooperation between Pakistan and China and assesses the effects of the CPEC in academic, socio-cultural, diplomatic, and soft power dimensions. In terms of research design, the research is qualitative and analytical, with both primary and secondary sources of data. The results of the semi-structured interviews with Pakistani students studying in Chinese universities, Chinese faculty, and policymakers are supplemented by the analysis of official reports, Higher Education Commission (HEC) publications, Chinese scholarship documents, and educational diplomacy and soft power-related scholarly literature. Thematic analysis helps discern the main aspects and consequences of higher education mobility concerning CPEC. The analysis shows that since the inception of CPEC, educational partnerships have expanded, with a notable increase in scholarship provisions from China, university partnerships, the establishment of Confucius Institutes, and research and development in the field of science and technology. CPEC also shows that increased educational mobility has developed skill sets, intercultural insight, scientific cooperation, and trust in a strategic framework among the two countries. Additionally, gaps involving cultural and linguistic variances, varying levels of academic assistance, and the absence of cohesive policies still impede full participation. The gap this study aims to fill is in the educational diplomacy literature, particularly regarding the strategic use of educational resources as an aspect of soft power and a foreign policy formulation framework in CPEC. The study purports that higher educational mobility has been central in formulating and actualizing Pakistan-China cooperation in the present and in the future.