ロシアで高まる中国語人気、深まる経済依存

【モスクワＡＦＰ＝時事】ロシアで中国語のオンラインレッスンをして生計を立てているキリル・ブロビンさん（２０）は、毎日曜日は早朝から夜中まで働きづめだ。（写真はロシア・モスクワ郊外で、中国語の語学学校で授業を行うワン・インユーさん）
　生徒数はこの１年で３倍に増えた。日曜日は一番忙しく、「休憩をほとんど取らずに１６時間レッスンをしている」と話す。
　中国語人気は、ロシアがアジアに軸足を移していることを示している。
　中国の習近平国家主席は今月、両国の「制限のない」関係を深める目的で３日間の日程でロシアを訪問し、ウラジーミル・プーチン大統領と会談した。
　ロシアはウクライナ侵攻に対する制裁を欧米諸国から課されており、国際社会からの孤立を深めている。経済・技術開発は打撃を受け、中国への依存度を高めている。
　ロシアのオンライン人材派遣会社大手ヘッドハンターのナタリア・ダニナ氏によると、中国語を必要とする求人は昨年は１万１０００件近くと、前年に比べ４４％増加した。
　■力を合わせれば「どこにも負けない」
　ロシアでの中国語人気は、英語と肩を並べる勢いだ。
　両方の言語を教えているアリーナ・ハムロワさん（２６）は、今年の英語のレッスン受講者はわずか３人だと話した。中国語は１２人いる。
　欧州の大学への留学がかなわなくなった今は、中国への留学希望者も増えているという。
　教育部門を統括するロシアの国営機関によると、外国語で最も人気があるのは依然として英語だが、高校修了時の外国語試験で中国語を選択する生徒の数は１万７０００人と１年で倍増した。
　ロシアが孤立を深めるにつれ、国内の多くの語学学校はカリキュラムを変更し、中国語の教師を招聘（しょうへい）している。
　２０１７年に中国語の語学学校を設立したワン・インユーさん（３８）とロシア人の妻で中国語を話すナタリアさんは、今年の受講生は昨年の２倍になったと話した。
　ワンさんは、「経済制裁によって手に入らなくなった製品を中国の工場に発注している企業も多い」とロシア語でＡＦＰに語った。
　一方、ロシアへの輸出に関心を寄せる中国企業の間では、バイリンガルの求人需要が高まっている。
　ワンさんは、中ロ関係の緊密化を歓迎している。
　「中国の産業基盤は堅固で、ロシアは資源が豊富だ。それぞれが独自に経済を築ける」とワンさん。「お互いが力を合わせれば、どこにも負けることはない」と話した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/03/29-16:36）

Every Sunday, Chinese tutor Kirill Burobin begins work in the early morning and is kept busy until midnight.
As Russia seeks to tighten ties with China amid Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine, the number of Burobin's students has tripled over the past year.
Sunday is the busiest, 20-year-old Burobin, who makes a good living with his online lessons, told AFP.
I have 16 hours of classes virtually without a break.
The boom in demand for Chinese lessons in Russia illustrates the country's pivot towards Asia as tensions build between Moscow and the West.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's three-day visit to Russia beginning Monday aims to deepen what the two countries have called a no-limits relationship, which is increasingly important for Russia as its international isolation deepens.
Pummelled by multiple rounds of Western sanctions, Russia's economic and technological development is becoming more dependent on China.
Natalia Danina, a manager at HeadHunter, the country's top online recruitment company, said that last year there were nearly 11,000 vacancies requiring knowledge of the Chinese language, a 44 percent increase compared to 2021.
Over the same period, the number of jobs for Chinese speakers in Russia has doubled in sales, transport and logistics, said Danina, pointing to an accelerated transition to Chinese-made equipment and spare parts.
Demand for Chinese speakers in energy jobs has tripled, she added.
- 'Just the start' -
Burobin, who also studies Eastern civilisations at a top Moscow university, said that he was happy to help his students learn more about a whole new world.
Russians are taking up Chinese because Beijing has become our main partner for decades to come, he said.
And this is just the beginning.
In August, Avito, Russia's leading online classified ads platform, reported a 138 percent increase in requests for Chinese lessons in Moscow in one year.
The same figure stood at 350 percent for the far eastern city of Vladivostok.
The popularity of Chinese classes might be starting to catch up with demand for English lessons in the country.
Alina Khamlova, 26, who teaches both languages, said she had only three English language students this year, compared to 12 who are learning Chinese.
One of her students is Maria, a 22-year-old designer who dreams of travelling to China to make her clothes there because it is cheaper than in Russia.
Another student is a 25-year-old gym coach, Ivan, who wants to work in China because Europeans are paid very well there.
Khamlova also said that many young people in Russia hope to study in Chinese universities now that many European establishments had become inaccessible to them.
While English still retains a dominant position, the number of high school students who chose Chinese as a foreign language during their final school exams has doubled in one year to 17,000, according to the state education watchdog Rosobrnadzor.
- 'No one will defeat us' -
Russia's growing isolation from the West has prompted many language schools to revise their curricula and invite teachers of the Chinese language.
Founded in 2017, the ChineseFirst language centre has seen twice as many registrations this year, said its co-founders, Wang Yinyu, 38, and his Russian wife Natalia, a 33-year-old Chinese speaker.
Wang's family business is booming, and he is planning to open two new branches and a kindergarten in Moscow.
In Russia, many companies have rushed to Chinese factories to order goods that have become unavailable in Russia due to sanctions, he told AFP in Russian.
And Chinese entrepreneurs, who are interested in exporting to Russia, are looking for bilingual employees.
Wang is glad that China and Russia are becoming closer.
China has powerful industry and Russia is rich in resources, which means that our two countries can build their own internal economy, he said.
If we stand back-to-back, no one will defeat us.