Jioji Konousi Konrote, President of the Republic of Fiji (second from right), Zhang Ping, Chinese Ambassador to Fiji (first from left), Rajesh Chandra, President of the University of the South Pacific (second from left) and Ren Chunxia, Representative of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (first from right) attending the groundbreaking ceremony of Model CI-USP Project (Photo by Zhang Yongxing, Xinhua News Agency, October 13th, 2017)

Founded in 2012, the Confucius Institute at the University of the South Pacific (CI-USP) is a fruitful result of the collaboration between the University of the South Pacific and the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications in China. As time goes on, the number of people who crave for Chinese learning in Fiji and the South Pacific Region is on the rise. In order to meet such demand, the Confucius Institute has successively set up teaching sites and Confucius Classrooms at the branch campuses of the UPS in Fiji, Vanuatu and Cook Islands. In 2016, the CI-USP was rated as the first model Confucius Institute in the South Pacific by Hanban due to its outstanding achievements. Now, in order to further meet the development demand of the Confucius Institute, Hanban funded the CI-USP to expand its scale there and increase modern teaching facilities and places for showcasing Chinese culture.

Distinguished guests present at the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the CI-USP and the groundbreaking ceremony of Model CI-USP Project were Ren Chunxia, Director of Department of International Cooperation and Exchange of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, who was on behalf of President Qiao Jianyong, Jioji Konousi Konrote, President of the Republic of Fiji, Zhang Ping, Chinese Ambassador to Fiji, Rajesh Chandra, President of the USP and others. According to them, the remarkable results achieved by the CI-USP in the past five years have much to celebrate. With the ever improving teaching quality and the full coverage of Confucius Classrooms and teaching sites, the CI-USP will take on a new look and become an important platform and window for people in Fiji and even the South Pacific region to learn Chinese, conduct cultural exchanges and understand China. It will also play a more crucial role in enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between people in China and the South Pacific Region.