President Wang Mingyi Attended the 13th Confucius Institutes Conference
On December 4, the 13th Global Confucius Institutes Conference, with the theme of “Reform, Innovation, Promotion of Development and Joint Work for the Future”, opened in Chengdu. Sun Chunlan, Vice Premier of the State Council and President of the Headquarters Council of Confucius Institutes, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech. Chen Baosheng, Minister of Education and Vice President of the Headquarters Council of Confucius Institutes, hosted the conference. Peng Qinghua, Secretary of Sichuan Provincial Party Committee, delivered a speech.
Sun Chunlan pointed out that the Chinese government has always encouraged cross-cultural exchanges and actively supported the cooperation between China and foreign countries in running Confucius Institutes. President Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed that Confucius Institute belongs to China and the world as a window and bridge for the exchange of languages and cultures between China and foreign countries. With the joint efforts of both China and foreign countries, Confucius Institutes have steadily improved the quality of education, increasingly active cultural exchanges and enhanced service capabilities. They have made positive contributions to meeting the needs of Chinese learning and serving economic and trade cooperation among the people of various countries.
Sun Chunlan pointed out that in order to build a community of human destiny and promote the common prosperity and development of all countries, it is necessary to better play the unique role of language in enhancing understanding, cohesion of consensus, promotion of cooperation and deepening friendship. Confucius Institutes should innovate teaching methods, strengthen the construction of teachers, improve the quality evaluation system and build an authoritative platform for Chinese teaching. We should carry out rich and colorful cultural activities, give full play to the role of Sinologists as cultural messengers, and cultivate a comprehensive platform for cultural exchanges. To implement the “Chinese” project, we should set up special courses such as skills, business and traditional Chinese medicine according to local conditions, and establish a practical and cooperative support platform. We should insist on opening doors to run schools, give full play to the advantages of both sides in running schools, train more talented people who are familiar with each other's countries, build a platform for friendly exchanges between countries, and make contributions to deepening friendship between China and foreign countries and building a community of human destiny.
In his speech, Peng Qinghua, Secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee, pointed out that Confucius Institutes play an important role in promoting “people-to-people” communication in the world, and have increasingly become a window and bridge for language and culture exchanges between China and foreign countries. Sichuan is one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization, with cultural genes and the tradition of rejuvenating religion. In recent years, Sichuan has persisted in inheriting and carrying forward the excellent traditional Chinese culture, encouraged and supported Sichuan schools to establish Confucius Institutes overseas, took the institutes as “media” and language as “bridge”, actively promoted the opening of education to the outside world, and deepened exchanges and cooperation with other countries in the world. Next step, we will continue to attach importance to supporting the construction of Confucius Institute, vigorously promote the Chinese language and culture, promote the exchange of talents, and promote Chinese culture and Bashu culture to go out.
More than 1500 delegates from 154 countries and regions attended the conference. President Wang Mingyi attended the opening ceremony of the conference as an official representative. Mohamed Nasir Udin Khan, Pakistan Director of the Confucius Institute of Karachi University, Kim Hyun-chee, Director of the Confucius Institute of Yonsei University in South Korea, Zhang Xiaoping, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute of Karachi University, and Yang Yingyu, Secretary/Vice-President of the College of International Education attended the conference.
During the conference, Wang Mingyi met with foreign representatives of two Confucius institutes in our university. Wang Mingyi, together with foreign representatives, reviewed a series of activities of the Academic Forum on the fifth anniversary of the establishment of Confucius Institute at our university held in September this year. He thanked Karachi University and Yonsei University for their strong support for the cause of Confucius Institute in our university in the past five years. Wang Mingyi pointed out that the cause of Confucius Institutes is an important part of international exchanges and cooperation among the three universities. He hoped that all parties would join hands and make contributions to the construction of a community of shared destiny for all mankind on the platform of Confucius Institutes.
As one of the six universities with Confucius Institutes built in Sichuan Province, Sichuan Normal University cooperated with the preparatory work for the Confucius Institutes Conference and actively assisted the Sichuan Education Department to link up Beijing Normal University and Shandong University. During the conference, Wang Mingyi and Dong Qi, President of Beijing Normal University, had a cordial exchange of views on the development of human destiny community and Normal University. Wang Mingyi invited Dong Qi to visit Sichuan Normal University to guide and attend relevant academic exchanges.
Wang Mingyi (The 3rd from Right), Dong Qi (The 3rd from Left), Mohamed Nasir Udin Khan (The 2nd from Right), Kim Hyun-chee (The 2nd from Left), Zhang Xiaoping (The 1st from Right), Yang Yingyu (The 1st from Left)
The theme of the Confucius Institutes Conference is “Reform, Innovation, Promotion of Development and Joint Work for the Future”. It has held two thematic forums, eight forums for Chinese and foreign presidents and 20 workshops. At present, China has established 548 Confucius Institutes and 1139 Confucius Classrooms in 154 countries and regions around the world, with a total of 11 million students. Sichuan Normal University has established the Confucius Institute of Karachi University in Pakistan and the Confucius Institute of Yonsei University in South Korea respectively, and has an independent Confucius classroom in Pakistan, the Confucius Classroom of Petro Middle School.