In order to further promote the Chinese excellent culture and expand the international influence of the Chinese language, Confucius Institute Headquarters and Hanban have co-sponsored the Chinese Medicine Culture Center, Chinese Language International Promotion (Beijing) at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. On December 10th, Vice Minister of Education Hao Ping, former Vice Minister of Education Liu Limin, BUCM CPC Secretary Wu Jianwei, and Hanban CPC Secretary Ma Jianfei inaugurated the center, witnessed by 511 Confucius Institutes across the globe and 1073 international guests from Confucius classes.

The Chinese Medicine Culture Center, Chinese Language International Promotion (Beijing) sponsored by Hanban has been set up by Beijing University of Chinese Medicine to meet the needs of international dissemination of CM culture and the Chinese language. The center aims to add practical value and fun to the learning of the Chinese language and help students better understand the connotation and essence of Chinese medicine and Chinese culture. To be specific, it will offer students knowledge of Chinese culture and general knowledge of health preservation tailored for language teaching purposes to enhance students’ level of Chinese by means of lectures, displays, and firsthand experience.

On the morning of December 10th, the 11th Global Confucius Institute Conference with the theme of innovation, cooperation, tolerance, and sharing was held as at Haigeng Assembly Hall, Kunming, Yunnan province. More than 2,200 people from over 140 countries and regions attended the conference, including university presidents and representatives from Confucius Institutes and Chinese embassies and consulates abroad. The 86-year-old Prof. Shinka Sohei, director of the TCM Confucius Institute at Hyogo College of Medicine Educational Corporation, won the individual award of excellence presented by Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong for his deep love of Chinese culture, and great contributions to the dissemination of the Chinese culture abroad, bilateral exchanges and cooperation in Chinese and Western medicine between China and Japan, and rapid development of the TCM Confucius Institute.