New Year Greetings

With a farewell to the propitious Year of Monkey, we will ring in the auspicious Year of Rooster. On the occasion of the Spring Festival welcoming the Year of the Rooster, the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) would like to extend New Year greetings to students of Confucius Institutes in various countries as well as Chinese language teachers and volunteers who are far away from their motherland and families throughout the world.

In 2016, the 13th Five Year Plan has kicked off to a good start, and Confucius Institutes also have flourished and reaped a bumper harvest. The scale has expanded steadily, as there now are 511 Confucius Institutes and 1073 Confucius Classrooms, covering 140 countries in the global family of Confucius Institutes. Moreover, the education quality is upgrading, school functions are expanding, and the operating mechanism is perfecting, constantly injecting new vitality into the sustainable development of Confucius Institutes. “Confucius Institutes belong to both China and the world”. Confucius Institutes are becoming “bridge builders” for communication and mutual learning between Chinese and foreign cultures as well as adding more “warm power” and “positive energy” to the public foundation that can promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges among countries and strengthen state relations. All the teachers, volunteers and staff members, by working diligently and serving quietly, have made significant contribution to the development of Confucius Institutes. Hereby, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all the friends that have supported and participated in the construction of Confucius Institutes.

Perseverance and persistence will lead to success. In 2017, we will still adhere to the idea of innovation, cooperation, inclusiveness and sharing, stay firm to our ideas and beliefs, enhance cultural self-confidence, pool together strength, and press ahead hand in hand. Following the working policy of seeking improvement in stability, connotative development, cultivating core competitiveness, as well as improving quality and efficiency, we will spare no efforts in work and jointly create a new prospect for Confucius Institutes, so as to contribute to culture diversity and enhancing the friendship among people around the world.

Wish everyone a happy new year, good health, career success and a happy family！

Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban)