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When Xu Jing completed her French degree, she decided not to follow in the footsteps of Deng Xiaoping, the late Chinese leader, who worked in France in the 1920s.
当徐静(音译)拿到法语学位后，她决定不追随已故中国领导人邓小平的脚步，邓小平曾在上世纪20年代在法国工作。
The young woman from Beijing instead joined a big Chinese construction company that she knew would send her to francophone Africa. Within a month she was in Algeria, joining the hundreds of thousands of Chinese working in Africa as part of a rapidly expanding diaspora.
这位来自北京的年轻姑娘加入了中国一家大型建筑公司，她知道，公司将派她去非洲的法语国家。入职不到一个月，她就被派到了阿尔及利亚，与数十万在非洲工作的中国人一道，成为迅速扩大的海外华人大军中的一员。
“In college I dreamt of going to France as people say that it’s the most romantic country in the world,” Ms Xu says. “But then I realised I can visit anytime . . . Africa, on the other hand, was different as nobody I knew had been there.”
“上大学时，我曾梦想去法国，人们说那是全世界最浪漫的国度，”徐静表示，“但后来我意识到法国什么时候去都可以……但非洲不一样，我认识的人都没有去过那里。”
Several years ago her choice – which included abandoning a possible career at a television channel – would have been unorthodox for French graduates, who like most university-educated Chinese sought “iron rice bowl” jobs that guaranteed lifetime employment.
在法语毕业生中间，她这样的选择（包括放弃一个有望在电视台工作的机会）放在几年前会被视为另类——与多数中国大学毕业生一样，法语毕业生也希望找到一个“铁饭碗”。
Beijing Foreign Studies University, one of China’s premier language colleges, says the number of its French graduates who take jobs in Africa has more than doubled from about 14 per cent in 2004 to about a third in recent years.
中国知名语言学院之一北京外国语大学(Beijing Foreign Studies University)称，该校近十来年赴非洲工作的法语毕业生增加了一倍多，占比从2004年的约14%增至最近几年的三分之一左右。
Chinese companies with operations in Africa now hire more BFSU graduates than the government bodies that offer traditionally coveted jobs. The trend has also been propelled by a tight labour market for graduates, which has been exacerbated by the slowing Chinese economy.
如今，在非洲设有业务的中国企业聘用的北外毕业生数量超过了政府机构，政府机构会提供传统上令人垂涎的工作。这一趋势还受到紧张的毕业生就业市场的推动，而中国经济放缓加剧了应届生就业市场的紧张状况。
“Our students would turn their noses up at jobs in Africa before. They were scared by the harsh conditions and, if they had a choice, would rather not go,” says Wang Kun, vice-dean of BFSU’s French department. “But after the financial crisis, they are more willing to work in Africa because it is harder to find a good job in China.”
“以前我们的学生看不起非洲的工作。他们害怕艰苦的环境，如果有选择的话，他们宁愿不去，”北外法语系副主任王鲲表示，“但在此次金融危机之后，他们去非洲工作的意愿增强了，因为在国内找到一份好工作更难了。”
French graduates are also benefiting from a rapid expansion of Sino-African economic ties. Chinese direct investment in Africa rose from $1.44bn in 2009 to $2.52bn in 2012, an annual increase of 20 per cent, according to the government. There are 2,500 Chinese enterprises with operations in China, up from 800 in 2006.
法语毕业生还受益于中非经济关系迅速扩张。根据政府数据，中国对非洲的直接投资从2009年的14.4亿美元增至2012年的25.2亿美元，年增速达到20%。目前有2500家中国企业在非洲设有业务，2006年仅为800家。
Chinese companies are also luring workers with better salaries than those available in China. Mr Wang says new graduates can earn up to Rmb200,000 ($32,000) a year in Africa, more than six times the average salary of Rmb30,000 for new college hires in China.
中国企业还凭借高于国内水平的薪资吸引员工赴非工作。王鲲表示，应届毕业生在非洲的年收入多的可达20万元人民币(合3.2万美元)，是中国应届毕业生平均薪资（3万元人民币）的6倍多。
The rising demand for French speakers has helped boost the number of Chinese universities offering the language as a major from 31 to 132 over the past decade. According to the Chinese Association of French Teaching, the number of university undergraduates studying for French degrees rose fivefold to 20,000 over the same period.
过去10年，随着对法语人才的需求升温，开设法语专业的中国高校数量从31所升至132所。根据中国法语教学研究会(Chinese Association of French Teaching)，同期内，攻读法语学位的大学本科生数量增加5倍，达到2万人。
This in turn has sparked an increase in the number of Chinese who study in France. The French embassy in Beijing estimates that China will overtake Morocco as the prime source of foreign students in France next year.
这进而促使中国赴法国留学的学生数量增加。法国驻北京大使馆估计，中国明年将取代摩洛哥，成为法国国际学生的主要来源。
While some universities are trying to capitalise on the new Africa trend, others are slower to change. Shen Guanglin, a French professor at Chengdu Institute Sichuan International Studies University, says elite universities focus too much on French literature and history, and overlook the fact that Africa is becoming the biggest workplace for students.
尽管一些大学正设法利用这股新出现的非洲热，但还有一些大学对于这一变化的反应较慢。四川外国语大学成都学院(Chengdu Institute Sichuan International Studies University)法语系教授沈光临表示，一流大学过于注重法国文学和历史，它们忽视了这样一个事实：非洲正变成学生们最大的工作地。
“It’s impossible for us to compete with top universities. Our students are not as good as theirs . . . so we have to create our own strengths,” Mr Shen says.
沈光临表示：“我们不可能与一流大学竞争。我们的学生不如他们优秀……因此我们必须打造我们自己的优势。”
He says his institute has introduced a more practical curriculum that focuses on areas such as engineering, technology and foreign trade.
他表示，成都学院推出了更为实用的课程，着重于工程、技术和外贸等领域。
The move appears to have been successful. Last year 93 per cent of his students had secured jobs by the time of their graduation, almost the same rate as students at much more elite universities such as BFSU. Meanwhile, companies flock to the institute seeking students of French, rather than the other way round as in the past. Half of his graduates ended up working for big Chinese companies with operations in Africa.
此举似乎已取得成效。去年，他的学生93%在毕业前找到了工作，几乎与北外等一流大学的就业率不相上下。同时，企业纷纷到该学院寻找法语学生，而不是像过去那样学生追着企业跑。他所教的毕业生中，有一半最后都供职于在非洲设有业务的中国大企业。
After graduating from the Institute in 2010, Gao Yunchuan went to Niger to work for Sinohydro, China’s largest dam-builder, swiftly rising from intern to deputy general manager.
2010年从成都学院毕业后，高云川(音译)赴尼日尔为中国最大的大坝建造商——中国水电(Sinohydro)工作，很快从实习生升任副总经理。
“I never thought that one day I would work in Africa,” Mr Gao says. “I had only seen Africa on maps.”
“我从未想过有一天我会在非洲工作，”高云川表示，“我只在地图上看到过非洲。”
While Mr Gao, who comes from a remote rural part of Sichuan province, has to endure an extremely hot and dry climate in Niger, life is made easier by the fact he earned Rmb240,000 last year.
尽管来自四川偏远农村地区的高云川必须忍受尼日尔极为炎热和干燥的气候，但去年24万元人民币的收入让他的生活变得轻松了一些。
“My friends told me I would earn a fortune in Africa but I had no idea it would be so much,” he says. “My monthly living expenses at college were just Rmb500.”
“我的朋友们告诉我会在非洲赚大钱的，但我不知道会赚这么多，”他表示，“我在大学时每月的生活费只有500元人民币。”
