President Edwards returns from China with educational, economic insights

China. It’s a place that brings to mind all sorts of images for Americans: Huge cities with towering skyscrapers. The Great Wall. Giant black-and-white pandas.

Most of us will never make the 7,000-plus-mile journey, but last month Allen Edwards, president of Pellissippi State, visited China as part of a delegation of Tennesseans led by Gov. Phil Bredesen.

The purpose of the trip was to explore new opportunities for trade and cultural exchange between the U.S. and China, or Zhongguo, as it’s known in Mandarin.

“With one-fourth of the world’s population, China is definitely a force to be reckoned with,” said Edwards. “I think it is in the best interests of our country to get involved, because we can learn from each other.”

President Edwards’ participation in the visit ties in with the establishment and mission of the Tennessee Consortium for International Studies, which is based at Pellissippi State.

TnCIS was founded last year to make international education and cultural understanding a central goal of higher education in Tennessee. Pellissippi State is one of 19 colleges and universities in the Tennessee Board of Regents system to participate in the consortium.

“One thing we have to remember,” he said, “is that the Chinese economy is on track to surpass the U.S. economy in 25 years, so this creates great opportunities for us for trade and education.”

By 2050, China’s population is expected to expand from 1.3 to 1.4 billion, led only by India, with a projected 1.6 billion. The United States, with an anticipated 420 million, will be the world’s third largest nation in 2050.

But massive population growth has a price. Some 300 million people are leaving the agricultural areas, says Edwards, and pouring into cities that are being built to accommodate them.

“The effects this will have on Chinese culture are unknown,” he said, “but one thing is certain: there is not enough higher education infrastructure in place now to meet the needs of the current population, and the situation will only get more complex as the population continues to increase.”

China’s leaders, he says, want their people to have international experiences.

Currently, 140 students with international backgrounds are enrolled at Pellissippi State, including six from mainland China and one from Hong Kong.

China is the most literate nation in the world, says Edwards, a fact that many Americans do not know.

“China has a 90 percent literacy rate—a fantastic educational system,” he said. “Nine years of education are required, and children start learning English in the first grade. After that, they have options for further education, based on test results.”

The fact that more Chinese are speaking English is evidence of a strategy to interact with Americans.

Likewise, Pellissippi State is placing itself in a prime position to internationalize its students.

“We are initiating many activities,” said Edwards, “including implementing for the first time a $10 fee on every student for our international studies program.”

The funds are being used by TBR institutions to send students overseas for intensive three- or four-week study sessions and, ultimately, for semester-long experiences as well.

“We must move toward getting students engaged in thinking about the world on a much larger scale than we’ve ever done before.

“To be good citizens of the United States, they need to understand what the rest of the world is like. I think it gives them a deeper appreciation of our culture and our political processes.”