Ma Jianfei Visits Confucius Institute at University of Johannesburg in South Africa

On the morning of Apr. 23rd, Ma Jianfei, Deputy Chief Executive of the Confucius Institute Headquarters and Deputy Director-General of Hanban, along with his delegation visited the Confucius Institute at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in South Africa, and inaugurated a Wushu Club of the institute. Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the UJ, Wei Dongze, South African Head of people.com.cn, Han Fang, Chairman of Chinese Language and Culture Foundation in South Africa and others attended the ceremony.

Ma Jianfei and his delegation visiting the Confucius Institute at the University of Johannesburg

Before the ceremony, Ma Jianfei and his delegation held a discussion with Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala and the staff of the Confucius Institute. Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala expressed his gratitude to the Confucius Institute Headquarters for its long-standing support to the Confucius Institute at the UJ, adding that with the deepening of political, economic, cultural and other exchanges between South Africa and China, the young Confucius Institute at the UJ has not only shouldered the responsibility of spreading Chinese culture, but also served as a bridge of friendly exchanges between the two countries. In just two years, the institute has achieved favorable results in fields including Chinese teaching, cultural exchanges, and academic research.

Ma Jianfei talking with Tshilidzi Marwala

Ma Jianfei affirmed the achievements by the Confucius Institute at the UJ and expressed sincere hopes for the future development of the institute. He pointed out that Confucius Institute should create higher values, provide better service for the UJ, perform as a platform of exchanges in various areas for China and South Africa, and score more progress especially in Chinese language teaching and cultural exchanges. Ma Jianfei stressed that the Confucius Institute Headquarters is willing to facilitate the cooperation between the UJ and Chinese universities, so as to achieve win-win cooperation in talent introduction and academic exchanges.

Ma Jianfei (Second from right) and Tshilidzi Marwala (Third from left) inaugurating the Wushu Club

Tai Chi performance

After the discussion, Ma Jianfei and Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala jointly inaugurated the Wushu Club of the institute and watched wonderful performances by Tai Chi group and Wushu group.