This is China, this is the UAE, we are good friends! I love you! Salim Youssef, a 6-year-old boy from the United Arab Emirates, introduced his paintings in Chinese and made a love gesture to the camera.

In November 2022, the Chinese Teaching Hundred Schools Project Drawing Competition held in the United Arab Emirates attracted more than 3,000 local students. Among the more than 550 recommended final works, 12 special prize works were selected from the four groups of children, primary schools, junior high schools and high schools. From the traditional Chinese buildings with carved beams and painted buildings to the Chinese space station full of sense of technology, the students expressed their eager yearning for China and their beautiful vision for the friendship between Afghanistan and China with their brushes.

In recent years, China and Arab countries have continued to expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges and enhance people-to-people bonds. As of October 2022, 4 Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Tunisia have incorporated Chinese into their national education systems, 15 Arab countries have opened Chinese departments in universities, 13 Arab countries have established 20 Confucius Institutes, 2 Independent Confucius Classroom. According to Ma Jianfei, director of the Chinese-Foreign Language Exchange and Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Education of China, at present, 158 primary and secondary schools and kindergartens in the UAE have offered Chinese courses; the first batch of 12 public middle schools in Egypt have officially launched the pilot program of Chinese education...

In the painting competition of the Hundred Schools Project, several UAE students drew works of Chinese and Arab astronauts walking in space together. They said that their dream is to send their works to the Chinese space station.

In September 2022, Passant Khalil, a young Egyptian Chinese teacher, whose Chinese name is Shiyu, had a Tiangong dialogue with astronauts who were performing missions on the Chinese space station through an online video. She asked Chinese female astronaut Liu Yang about women's career development. Liu Yang replied that as long as we have dreams in our hearts, we will have strength under our feet, which impressed her deeply. Liu Yang passed on the encouragement from space to women all over the world.

The Tiangong dialogue became one of the brightest moments in Shi Yu's life. As a Chinese teacher, she found that in recent years, students are very interested in China's scientific achievements such as aerospace, bioengineering, and information technology. Many people choose science and engineering departments when studying in China, hoping to bring back the experience of China's scientific and technological progress.

Language is the carrier of civilization exchanges, and the friendship between countries lies in the friendship between peoples. The enthusiasm of the young Arab generation to learn Chinese reflects the characteristics of Generation Z. They understand, tell and spread Chinese culture in a youthful way: the video of Moroccan music blogger Dina singing Chinese songs in the streets of her hometown has been played on social media. More than 100 million times; in the "Singing of Egypt" singing competition, there are not only classic songs such as "Azalea" but also popular music such as "The Brightest Star in the Night Sky"; Mahdi Ahmad, an Egyptian boy studying at Jingdezhen Ceramic University De used blue and white to draw cosmic science fiction...

"I have been engaged in international Chinese education work, and I am often moved by the desire of students from all over the world for China and Chinese culture." Ma Jianfei said that these students have brought their families and friends to learn Chinese and understand China together, and become teachers from different countries and cultures. A friendly messenger for people to know each other. Editor/He Yuting