On September 19, Zhao Long, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Governor of Fujian province, visited FAFU’s Confucius Institute at Durban University of Technology in South Africa, and participated in a series of activities to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its establishment. 

Speech by Governor Zhao Long

Zhao Long and his entourage first visited the Confucius Institute at DUT accompanied by Thandwa Mtenbu, DUT President and Wang Jiannan, Chair of the University Council, and had a talk with representatives of the teachers and students who wrote letters to President Xi Jinping. During the talk, the South African teachers and students expressed in fluent Chinese their excitement of receiving President Xi's reply and their love for Chinese traditional culture. Zhao Long said that both of China and Africa have rich histories and cultures and it is the encounter of the two cultures that opens the window of exchanges and mutual understanding. The history of human development is that of exchanges and mutual understanding of civilizations. He hoped that, through learning Chinese, the teachers and students of the Confucius Institute would strive to be messengers of China-Africa exchanges, disseminators of Chinese and African cultures, and exchangers and mutual learners of human civilizations. He encouraged us to take President Xi Jinping's reply as a new starting point, implement the new round of cooperation, further enrich the contents of how to run a better school and improve the quality of education in order to train more talents and build a global model Confucius Institution with special characteristics, making greater contributions to deepening the friendship and cooperation between China and South Africa. 

Signing Agreements 

Joint Unveiling of Cooperation Plaque

Afterwards, Governor Zhao Long attended the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Confucius Institute, watched the exhibition of the achievements of the Confucius Institute and the cultural performance performed by the university students’ art troupe and the teachers and students of the Confucius Institute, witnessed the renewal of the agreement on the establishment of the Confucius Institute with DUT, and the signing ceremony of the tripartite agreement on the strategic cooperation between FAFU, Xiamen BRICS Office and DUT.

Governor Zhao Long, along with Wang Jiannan, Thandwa Mthembu, and Li Zhigong, Consul General of China in Durban, unveiled the plague of “Confucius Institute at Durban University of Technology Chinese+ Vocational Skills Practice Center”, the “China-South Africa Smart JUNCAO Project”, and released the first Chinese-Zulu dictionary in the world. Zhao Long also attended the unveiling ceremony of the “Chinese Tea Culture Exhibition Center in South Africa” at Confucius Institute, and watched the tea art performance by teachers and students. Wang Jiannan, and Lin Zhanxi, chief scientist of Engineering Research Center of JUNCAO Technology, and some other faculty members of corresponding units of FAFU accompanied him to participate in the relevant activities.

Correspondant/Photogragher: Office of International Cooperation and Exchange    

Translators: Huang Jiazhen, International College

                     Meng Yaqi, International College