2013 Chinese Training Program for EU officials launched

2013 Chinese Training Program for EU officials was launched at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) on July 21. 30 EU officials came to attend the one-week training in Beijing and Xi’an.

Ms. Zhang Xiuqin, Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges of the Education Ministry, made a speech at the opening ceremony. She made a brief introduction about the program. Over the past decade, China and the EU have witnessed increasingly close cooperation on education, training, culture, research, youth and multilingualism. The training program has arranged a lot of activities for the EU officials, such as lectures covering the Chinese culture, economy, science & technology and education, and there will also be some visits to China’s state organs, education agencies and media organizations. Moreover, tours to the scenic spots and historical sites are also on agenda to help them experience a real China.

She hoped that the training program would help the EU officials to know more about China, in particular the history and people. “And also let our Chinese people learn from you, and join in hands to make more true friends”, she added.

Dr. Jing Wei, Deputy Chief Executive of Confucius Institutes Headquarters and Deputy Director General of Hanban, made a welcome speech to all the officials on behalf of the sponsor. She invited them to visit Hanban, and wished them a pleasant and rewarding stay in China.

Prof. Han Zhen, President of Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), cited an old saying by Confucius to welcome the officials “When there is a good friend coming from afar, people will also be delighted”. He said that 2013 marks the 10th anniversary for the all-around strategic partnership between China and Europe. And among all the co-operations, education has been a very important part. The training program is one of the vivid examples of the cooperation in education field.

BFSU is the university with the largest variety of language education in China, and nowadays, it has 58 languages teaching courses, and among them, 23 are official languages of the European Union. BFSU is always trying to follow the principle of “To introduce the whole world to China, and introduce China to the whole world” as her top mission. Furthermore, BFSU, through language study, not only tries to make China understand more about Europe, but also tries to make Europe understand more about China.