On December 20, the “Chinese Bridge” 20th Anniversary Celebration was hosted by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation of the Ministry of Education. Mr. Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Education, attended the event and delivered a speech. At the ceremony, the “Chinese Bridge” 20 Years Outstanding Contribution Award was awarded to University of Johannesburg Confucius Institute, and a total of 20 organizations from around the world were awarded the “Chinese Bridge” 20 Years Outstanding Contribution Award, among which there are only 12 Confucius Institutes in the world. Mr. Tian Xuejun, Vice Minister of Education, Liu Xiaolong, member of the editorial board of CMG, and ambassadors from other countries in China, together with partner organization representatives participated in the celebration event.

In his speech, Mr. HUAI Jinpeng said that as a “cultural bridge, friendship bridge and spiritual bridge” between China and the world, the “Chinese Bridge” program has covered more than 160 countries in the past 20 years, invited more than 170,000 young people to experience Chinese language and culture, and attracted more than 1.5 million young people to participate in the Chinese proficiency competition known as the “Chinese Language Olympics” for foreign university and secondary students. In recent years, the “Chinese Bridge” program has become an exciting and fascinating language program worldwide. Huai Jinpeng stressed that the Chinese government and people have always attached great importance to and strongly supported the construction of the “Chinese Bridge” brand and the implementation of the program.

The students of University of Johannesburg Confucius Institute have won the first prize in South Africa Final of the “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for three of the last four years. In August 2020, University of Johannesburg Confucius Institute, despite the COVID-19 outbreak and the unstable social order in South Africa, still insisted on organizing the 2020 South Africa of the “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition, demonstrating the persistence and tenacity of the leaders, teachers and students, for which UJCI was awarded the Outstanding Organization Award. The “Chinese Bridge” 20 Years Outstanding Contribution Award once again highlights the NanjingTech Confucius Institute brand and openness to the outside world.