After the COVID-19, Chinese online education was popularized, but as the epidemic subsided, the attention dropped. The academic community generally believes that online education is an auxiliary means of offline teaching and its role should not be overly exaggerated. However, considering the global development situation and the demand for international Chinese education, online education may exist in an independent form in the post pandemic era, and its strategic position in the development of international Chinese education disciplines and undertakings needs to be taken seriously.

The strategic significance of promoting the development of international Chinese online education

We discussed the strategic significance of developing international Chinese online education and pointed out its importance in responding to changes in the international environment and the transformation and upgrading of Confucius Institutes. Faced with the anti globalization trend and political risks, such as the closure of Confucius Institutes and restrictions on federal funding in the United States, online education has become a key way to maintain and develop international Chinese education due to its advantages of not being limited by time and space and resisting political interference. At the same time, promoting the development of online education is helpful for the market-oriented operation of Confucius Institutes, solving the problem of funding sources, and enhancing market competitiveness.

2 Challenges Faced by International Chinese Online Education

The three main challenges faced by the development of international Chinese online education as an independent form were discussed: 1) insufficient understanding of the strategic significance of online education, leading to online education being seen as an auxiliary to offline teaching rather than an independent form; 2) Insufficient understanding of the needs of international non degree in-service learners of Chinese, neglecting the needs of this group of learners; 3) The institutional system for managing online international Chinese education needs to be improved, lacking systematic planning and governance, resulting in limited development.

3 Strategies to Address the Challenges Faced by International Chinese Online Education

Proposed to enhance the understanding of the strategic value of international Chinese online education, draw on the experience of international language and cultural institutions, and create software and hardware infrastructure conditions; Taking advantage of institutional advantages, organize universities to build online education modules, launch popular Chinese courses and training programs, and create a new space for international Chinese education.

4. The content of this special research topic

This chapter emphasizes the importance of the development of international Chinese online education in the post pandemic era, and proposes two research works: one is to study the online education practices of major language and culture promotion institutions in the world, and the other is to analyze the demand for online education in international Chinese education. This special issue includes three papers, which respectively explore the impact of online education on international language dissemination, market analysis and policy planning suggestions for international one-on-one Chinese online teaching, and the application of online collaborative teaching mode between Chinese and foreign teachers in Chinese oral teaching. These research findings aim to promote the development of independent forms of international Chinese online education, improve education quality, expand influence, and look forward to attracting more attention and suggestions from experts and scholars.