On June 14, Hanban (China National Office for Teaching Chinese as aForeign Language) replied to the School of International Studies ofSIFT and recognized SIFT as a tests centre for Chinese languagetests such as HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test), BCT (Business ChineseTest), and YCT (Youth Chinese Test).
HSK is an international standardized exam that tests and ratesChinese language proficiency. It assesses non-native Chinesespeakers’ abilities in using the Chinese language in their daily,academic and professional lives. BCT is a state-level standardizedtest designed to assess the Chinese proficiency of non-nativespeakers engaged in business activities. YCT is an internationalstandardized test of Chinese language proficiency, assessing youngforeign students' abilities to use Chinese in their daily andacademic lives. What HSK means to non-native Chinese speakers islike what IELTS or TOFEL means to non-native English speakers. It’sa standardized Chinese proficiency test for foreign studentsstudying in China, in particular those Chinese GovernmentScholarship holders. Students are required to pass HSK test at acorresponding level in order to be able to study degree programs inthe Chinese institutions of higher learning.