Published on: 2026-04-21
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Author: Emin Gasimov
April 20 is observed in the United Nations system as Chinese Language Day. This date was established within the framework of the policy of multilingualism and equal use of the six official languages of the Organization. Chinese has been an official UN language since 1946, and the language day tradition was introduced in 2010 to support multilingualism, cultural diversity, and more balanced international communication.
The symbolic date of April 20 is associated with the season of Guyue and the image of Cangjie, who in Chinese tradition is associated with the origins of writing. It is precisely for this reason that April 20 should be considered as an internationally recognized point of discussion about the place of the Chinese language in the modern global humanitarian and diplomatic architecture.
In conditions where language increasingly clearly serves not only as a means of communication but also as a bearer of cultural memory, educational mobility, and international trust, the significance of this date goes far beyond philological topics and acquires a direct political-humanitarian dimension.
The meaning of this date lies in the fact that it combines three levels of significance of the Chinese language. Firstly, it is the language of a great literary civilization, whose historical depth in the official UN material is directly linked to the five-thousand-year path of Chinese written characters. Secondly, it is one of the working tools of modern multifaceted diplomacy. Thirdly, it is the language through which cultural heritage is transformed into a resource for modern international interaction in the fields of education, humanitarian exchanges, and intercivilizational communication.
In a broader historical sense, the Chinese language throughout the entire long history of human civilization has not acted as a language of isolation but as a language of progress, development, culture, and peace. As the bearer of one of the longest and uninterrupted intellectual traditions in the world, it has ensured the transmission of knowledge, formed cultural codes, accompanied trade, educational and diplomatic relations, and thereby served as an important instrument of intercivilizational dialogue.Therefore, the International Day of the Chinese Language is rightfully perceived today not only as a day of recognition of the language itself but also of the entire civilizational function that it continues to perform in the 21st century.
In the Azerbaijani context, April 2026 gave this international date a particularly specific content. On April 14, at the Central Office of the “Yeni Azərbaycan” party, a ceremony was held to open a Chinese language course. After the ceremony, the first lesson took place. The fact itself is significant, going beyond the scope of a separate educational event: the Chinese language is becoming increasingly noticeable in the space not only of the university but also of a broader institutional and socio-political communication.
It is especially important that this initiative has demonstrated the active and substantive role of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Azerbaijan and of the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador Ms. Lu Mei. The Embassy acted not only as a ceremonial participant but also as one of the practical driving forces behind the project. Speaking at the event, Ms. Lu Mei directly linked interest in the study of the Chinese language with deepening relations between the two countries and the two parties, and also emphasized the Embassy’s readiness to continue creating necessary conditions for the development of such formats.
In turn, the Azerbaijani side publicly thanked the embassy and personally Ms. Lu Mei for the support of the initiative. All this allows us to consider the April course as a new political and humanitarian signal: linguistic cooperation is becoming an increasingly noticeable part of the infrastructure of Azerbaijani-Chinese friendship and mutual understanding between peoples.
It is important to emphasize that the current growth of interest in the Chinese language in Azerbaijan did not arise spontaneously. Its institutional base was formed gradually over two decades. Since 2004, the Chinese regional studies program has been operating at Baku State University. In 2011, with the cooperation of Anhui University, the Confucius Institute at Baku State University was established.Since 2022, a specialty “Chinese Philology” has been opened at the Faculty of Oriental Studies, and on December 8, 2023, an agreement was signed between Baku State University, the Center for Language Education and Cooperation of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, and Anhui University on a joint bachelor’s program in international Chinese language education. It is also indicative that since the opening of the Confucius Institute at Baku State University, about six thousand students have been trained there.All this indicates that the teaching of the Chinese language in Azerbaijan has long since moved beyond the level of a local academic initiative to a sustainable educational format.
The Azerbaijani University of Languages also plays a significant role. It is precisely the Confucius Institute at the Azerbaijani University of Languages that officially functions as a center for conducting the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi and Hanyu Shuiping Kouyu Kaoshi exams, and successfully passing these exams and obtaining the international certificate opens up the opportunity to study in the People’s Republic of China under scholarship programs.Therefore, the infrastructure for studying the Chinese language in Azerbaijan was formed not only as a cultural and educational environment but also as a system associated with international certification, an academic trajectory, and real educational prospects.
At the current stage, it is especially important that the Chinese language gradually goes beyond the confines of university auditoriums in the capital. In January 2026, the Azerbaijan University of Languages announced the establishment of a Confucius Institute branch at the Bilyasuvar complex “kindergarten-school-lyceum” named after Mubariz Ibragimov. This step should improve the quality of education in the region, increase the interest of schoolchildren and youth in the Chinese language and culture, and also contribute to the development of international educational ties.Already on April 1, 2026, at an event at the Azerbaijani University of Languages, it was additionally confirmed that teaching the Chinese language in this complex will be implemented in practice. This allows us to say about the beginning of an important process: the Chinese language in Azerbaijan is beginning to acquire not only a metropolitan, but also a regional educational scope. At the same time, its social base of study is expanding.In October 2025, a branch of the Confucius Institute was opened at the Azerbaijan University of Languages in the Baku Youth Center, and this project was implemented with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Azerbaijan Republic and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Azerbaijan Republic. From an analytical perspective, this is particularly indicative: the Chinese language is becoming a part not only of the university but also of a broader youth and public space.In other words, it is no longer just about expanding the number of study points, but about the gradual formation of a broader social environment in which interest in China begins to become institutionalized.
Today, the Chinese language in Azerbaijan is increasingly perceived as a practical resource. This is primarily due to the fact that it provides access to an internationally recognized language certification system, and through it — to academic mobility. Successful passing of the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi and Hanyu Shuiping Kouyu Kaoshi exams opens the way to study in the People’s Republic of China under scholarship programs.A parallel mass format of language training is developing: at the Azerbaijan State Economic University, distance courses in the Chinese language have been operating since 2019, and as of March 2025, more than five hundred students have already participated. Thus, the language ceases to be an elite symbolic knowledge and becomes an applied competence accessible to an increasingly wide circle of young people.
From this, a broader conclusion follows. In modern conditions, the Chinese language in Azerbaijan acquires the significance of a channel for educational growth, international mobility, and future professional demand. As noted by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in an interview to the information agency Xinhua in April 2025, the partnership between the universities of the two countries, the teaching of the Chinese language at the Azerbaijani Confucius Institute, and the creation of centers of Azerbaijani language and culture in China contribute to deepening mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.Therefore, the Chinese language becomes increasingly prominent not only as an educational subject but also as a long-term human capital of Azerbaijan-China cooperation.
The special significance of the current stage is defined by the fact that the study of the Chinese language in Azerbaijan is ceasing to be exclusively an academic or cultural-educational topic and is increasingly becoming part of a broader architecture of Azerbaijani-Chinese strategic rapprochement.The joint statement on the comprehensive strategic partnership dated April 23, 2025, directly recorded the parties’ intention to continue student exchanges, support the development of Confucius Institutes in Azerbaijan, promote the teaching of Azerbaijani and Chinese languages in educational institutions, expand youth and academic contacts, and strengthen humanitarian exchanges in general. This means that language cooperation is no longer fixed on the periphery of the bilateral agenda, but is included among the recognized directions of long-term interaction.That is precisely why we can confidently speak about the practical manifestation of the already established politico-humanitarian logic.
Therefore, the importance of the Chinese language is increasing precisely now because it is increasingly becoming an infrastructural element of relations between the two countries. When the language is simultaneously supported at the level of interstate agreements, diplomatic initiatives, university education, youth formats, and regional expansion, it begins to perform the function of long-term humanitarian capital.This is the main meaning of the current stage: the Chinese language in Azerbaijan ceases to be simply a subject of study and becomes a stable channel for personnel training, strengthening public trust, and forming a deeper social basis for bilateral partnership.
Thus, the International Chinese Language Day on April 20 takes on significance in the Azerbaijani context in 2026, going far beyond a symbolic calendar date. It allows one to see the process that has already formed and continues to expand: the Chinese language in Azerbaijan is solidified as the language of education, youth mobility, humanitarian exchange, and institutional dialogue.The combination of a university base, international certification, regional expansion, and new socio-political formats shows that this is not about isolated initiatives, but about the gradual formation of an integrated infrastructure for linguistic and cultural interaction.
In a deeper analytical sense, this means the following: the Chinese language becomes one of the softest, but at the same time the most stable mechanisms of Azerbaijani-Chinese rapprochement. It is precisely through language that the ability to better understand the logic of another civilization is formed, the space of trust is expanded, the new generation of specialists is prepared, and the public foundations of bilateral friendship are strengthened. Therefore, in modern conditions, the Chinese language in Azerbaijan should be considered as one of the promising tools for the long-term and substantive deepening of relations between the two countries. –0–
Note: Emin Gasimov is an Azerbaijani expert, director of the Center for the Study of Global Initiatives, Development and Culture of China.
The opinions expressed in the article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the point of view of IA Sin.
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