12th Confucius Institute Conference Concludes in Xi’an

The 12th Confucius Institute Conference concluded in Xi’an of Shaanxi Province on December 13th. Nearly 2,500 people, including university presidents and representatives of the Confucius Institutes (Classrooms) as well as representatives from language and culture promotion institutions of other countries, held a 2-day discussion and exchanges on how to enhance the cooperation between Chinese and foreign companies and on ways to participate in the “Belt and Road” construction through the Confucius Institute.

The theme of the conference was “Deepen Cooperation, Developing through Innovation, Working Together to Build a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind”. Centering on “The Development of Confucius Institute and the Establishment of a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind”, a conference forum was set up for the first time, and a total of 15 forums were carried out among university presidents and Confucius Institute directors at home and abroad. In addition, various exhibitions were held on the sidelines of the conference, including the Confucius Institute Chinese Language Teaching Resource Exhibition, the Chinese Teaching Materials Exhibition, and the Theme Exhibition on Chinese Food Culture.

Tian Xuejun, Vice Minister of Education and Executive Council Member of Confucius Institute Headquarters, P.R.China., said on the closing ceremony that the Chinese government will continue its efforts in promoting the internationalization of education and improve the level of opening up in education, so as to contribute to the Belt and Road Initiative, create channels for people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, and provide high-quality services to overseas students.

The Confucius Institutes is an important manifestation for Chinese education’s going global and a successful model for education exchanges and cooperation between China and the rest of the world. He hoped that teachers and students of the Confucius Institutes keep their original aspirations firmly in mind, establish a long-term plan, improve the system and mechanism, enhance the strength construction, improve quality and level, and promote innovation and development.

So far, altogether 525 Confucius Institutes and 1,113 Confucius Classrooms have been established in 146 countries and regions across the globe. In 2017, a total of 2.32 million students studied at Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms with 12.72 million people benefiting from various related cultural events.

(Story by Yao Youming and Qin Hanyuan, Xinhua News Agency, Xi’an, December 13th)