On 30th September, Peking University HSBC Business School UK Campus (PHBS UK) and Chinese Testing International Education Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd (CTI), signed a contract to establish a Chinese HSK test centre at PHBS UK with the goal to promote Chinese teaching and learning in the UK. While this test centre is Peking University’s 12th HSK test centre (the count includes the test centres on its Beijing campus and the test centres under the PKU affliates working with Confucius Institutes), what should be celebrated is that PHBS-UK is the first test centre outside of China that is directly under the auspices of Peking University.
As China is one of the world’s most dynamic economies, learning the Chinese language and culture is considered as a key skill to fully navigate the wealth of business opportunities in China. With the ever-increasing learning demand, it is of vital importance to establish another international test centre for global learners in the UK to support their studies. The new test centre aims to provide a wide range of testing services including Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK), Business Chinese Test (BCT) and Youth Chinese Test (YCT). In attendance for the online signing ceremony to mark this monumentous occasion are Professor Guy Liu, the Head of PHBS UK Campus, Dr Mengqiu Gui, Director of PHBS UK Chinese Programme, Mr Peize Li, Chairman and General Manager of Chinese Testing International Education Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd, Mr Xiaolong Liu, Director of Marketing and Operations, and Ms Ming Lei, Project Director of Learning and Testing Innovation Center.
In his opening address, Prof Guy Liu highlighted how appropriate this test centre is established in 2022; for this year marks the 70th anniversary of Peking University’s International Education Programme. Over the past seven decades, PKU has not only provided high quality education to international students, it has also offered students the unique learning opportunity of acquiring the language and to better understand the Chinese culture - a life skill that is proving to be increasingly useful in a highly globalized and interconnected world. As many of PKU’s international students go on to become business leaders, politicians, and Chinese culture experts in different areas, the acquisition of the Chinese language and knowledge of Chinese culture are increasingly important in order to successfully to business with one of the largest global economies.
As the first overseas campus of Peking University, PHBS UK aims to equip students with a Global Vision and Chinese Insight by combining Chinese language learning with its MA and MBA programmes. This is achieved through various activities aimed at increasing awareness of Chinese language teaching and learning. For example, the UK Campus has successfully organized the inaugural Hongmen Dialogue (黉门对话)- an international academic conference focusing on the teaching and learning of Chinese as a second language. In addition, the establishment of an international test centre at PHBS UK will be very beneficial to more mandarin learners in the UK and would be able to boost the learning and understanding of Chinese culture and aid in the strengthening of the friendship between the two countries.
In his closing address, Mr. Peize Li, the general manager of CTI, remarked that it is always the responsibility and mission of CTI to help more overseas learners to learn and use the Chinese language. Over the years, CTI has has built and maintained a strong partnership with PKU by providing testing services to its many departments. Mr Li expressed his gratitude to PKU for the ongoing support and encouragement that CTI has received from PKU with regards to the teaching and examinations. The signing of the contract with PHBS UK is another milestone in the long-term partnership between Peking University and CTI.
CTI is an international professional Chinese education testing institution with an independent legal entity, committed to providing diversified Chinese testing and "Chinese +" education services for students and educational institutions around the world. After more than 10 years of development, the HSK test promoted by CTI has become the third largest language test brand after IELTS and TOEFL.
Mr Peize Li (Left) and Professor Guy Liu (Right)
