Feature: High job opportunities prompt Mandarin learning in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Seng Monyneth, an 18-year-old Cambodian student, has planned to pursue a bachelor's degree in Chinese literature after graduating from her Chinese high school here in the capital of Cambodia.

The 12th-grade student at the Duan hua Chinese School expressed her aspiration to pursue a university-level degree in Chinese literature, citing the growing demand for professionals proficient in Chinese due to increasing trade and investment ties between Cambodia and China.

Monyneth said she hopes to work as a translator at a reputable Chinese enterprise in the Southeast Asian country when she graduates.

"When I am fluent in Chinese, I will be able to better learn about Chinese culture and will be easy to travel to China, and my job opportunities will be high as well," she told Xinhua on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of Duan hua University in the capital's Pou Senchey district on Saturday.

Governed by the Association of Chinese Teochew in Cambodia, Duan hua University is an expansion of the Duan hua Chinese School.

Monyneth said China is currently Cambodia's top investor and trading partner as well as a major source of tourists to Cambodia.

"With Chinese proficiency, we will be able to earn more money and easy to get higher positions," she said.

Moeng Kim Leang, a 12th-grade student at the Duan hua Chinese School, said Chinese proficiency could open up diverse job opportunities, such as becoming a language interpreter, translator, or cultural liaison.

"I desire to be an interpreter of the Chinese language because Chinese language has become popular and job chances are high," he told Xinhua.

"In Cambodia, there are a lot of Chinese people, so the demand for Chinese proficiency is high," the 18-year-old student said.

Moeurn Sothea, a teacher of Chinese at the Duan hua Chinese School, was optimistic that more Chinese investors and tourists would visit Cambodia in the coming years thanks to the close ties between the two countries and peoples.

"Chinese language has become popular among Cambodian students because Cambodia has good relations with China, and a lot of investments in Cambodia are from China," he told Xinhua. "So, the learners of Chinese language have high chances for good jobs with high salaries."

Sothea said learning Chinese also helps them build nice ties with Chinese people around the world.

"I would like to encourage all students to turn their interest to Chinese language because Mandarin is very useful in our communication as well as job hunt," he said.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Youth and Sports Hang Chuon Naron said during the inauguration of the Duan hua University on Saturday that the university would contribute to the development of high-quality education in Cambodia.

"The university will contribute to producing quality human resources for our country's socioeconomic development," he said. "It will also contribute to promoting technological development aiming at building a modern and civilized Cambodian society in the digital era of the 21st century."