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Chinese children take to coding amid country’s lofty goals in AI, other hi-tech initiatives

  • The wave of enthusiasm in China for coding education comes as the country moves to become an AI powerhouse

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Coding is the computer language employed to build the software, websites and apps that people use. Photo: Getty Images
Celia Chenin Shenzhen

For many parents in China, it has long been de rigueur to have their children attend after-school tutoring in English and mathematics, subjects deemed important to help advance their future career prospects.

That study load, however, has increased because of a growing trend for parents to also send their children to coding classes, on top of the typical music lessons, sports camps and other extra curricular activities they attend.

“Coding is a must-have skill because we are entering the age of AI [artificial intelligence], when the jobs of people without coding skills will be replaced by robots,” said Li Yu, a stock trader in Beijing.

Li said her four-year son, Chen Tian, is taking coding class every weekend. It is a formative education in computing that she hopes will “help him understand how the technology-enhanced world works”, she said.

Coding is the computer language employed to build the software, websites and apps that people use.

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