Attracting approximately 400 delegates from 38 countries and
regions, the first Confucius Institute Conference was held in
Beijing on Thursday. Chinese State Councilor Chen
Zhili said at the opening ceremony that people from all round
the world could benefit from the Confucius Institute which
specializes in Chinese language and culture education.
"Language is the most important tool in helping promote mutual
understanding and friendship among people," Chen said. The Chinese
government encourages the population, especially young people, to
learn foreign languages and understand other cultures. Currently
more than 300 million Chinese are learning foreign languages.
With China's further opening up to the outside world the
country’s language had attracted more attention from the people of
foreign countries, Chen said. Statistics show more than 30 million
people worldwide are learning Chinese.
The Confucius Institute, a non-profit public body, was initiated
in 2004 to satisfy the surging overseas demand to learn
Chinese.
So far a total of 80 Confucius Institutes have been opened in 36
countries and regions and 99 institutes from 38 countries have
applied to set up Confucius Institutes.
Chen said the Confucius Institutes in different locations had
developed in various ways in accordance with the demands of
countries and regions. "From a Confucius Institute people not only
learn the Chinese language and culture but also get a much clearer
picture of a modern China," Chen said. "Therefore, Confucius
Institutes had been widely welcomed by overseas communities.”
Nancy Jervis, vice-president of the China Institute in New York,
"dared not imagine" that the "Chinese language could become so
popular" when she first visited China in 1972. Beyond her
imagination perhaps but a total of 2,400 US universities are now
planning to run Chinese language courses. And Chinese in comparison
with other languages has witnessed the largest increase in students
in recent years.
"It’s of great significance to learn the Chinese language which
belongs to a most populous nation with the fastest economic
growth," Jervis said. She felt "honored" that the first Confucius
Institute in the United States had been established by the China
Institute.
(Xinhua News Agency July 7, 2006)