Speakers at the anniversary celebration of the Confucius Institute of UC.

The Confucius Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile celebrated its 14th anniversary on May 16.

The Confucius Institute of UC is run by UC, Nanjing University in China, and Nanjing-based Phoenix Publishing and Media Group.

Chinese Ambassador to Chile Niu Qingbao extended his congratulations to the 14th anniversary of the establishment of the Confucius Institute of UC.

Niu mentioned that as both UC and Nanjing University are prestigious universities representing the best higher education in the two countries, UC's Confucius Institute, built by the two universities, is a veritable "chosen one".

The Confucius Institute has cultivated numerous Chinese-speaking talents for Chile, becoming a calling card of UC and a center of cultural exchanges and mutual learning between China and Chile, he noted.

Teachers and students from the Confucius Institute perform at the anniversary celebration.

Niu also expressed hope that the Confucius Institute of UC will take up the opportunities presented by China-Chile relations entering a new era to continue serving as the platform of China-Chile education, the window of Chinese culture, and the bond of friendship between the two countries and make a greater contribution to the development of the China-Chile comprehensive strategic partnership.

Yang Zhong, executive deputy Party secretary of NJU, expressed sincere thanks to UC, PPMG and people from all walks of life that care about the development of the Confucius Institute.

Yang said in his speech that the Confucius Institute plays a special and important role in advancing people-to-people exchanges between China and Chile.

Yang added that he hopes that the Confucius Institute, standing at a new starting point in history, will make new contributions to the comprehensive cooperation between NJU and UC, people-to-people exchanges between China and Chile, and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Xu Hai, editor-in-chief of PPMG, said in his letter of congratulation that PPMG updated the books of the Phoenix Bookshelf in the Institute again last year and upgraded the Phoenix Bookshelf to the Phoenix Library.

He added that PPMG hopes to cooperate closely with Chile and other Latin American Countries in publication-centered projects based on the high-end academic resources and channels of UC and NJU.

UC President Dr. Ignacio Sanchez said that since its establishment in 2009, the Confucius Institute of UC has carried out cooperation with other departments at the university, other universities in Chile, local companies and government departments.

The Institute has also arranged a dazzling array of activities in and outside of the campus and set up high-quality Chinese language courses, making itself a significant bridge of cultural exchanges between the two countries.

At the celebration, teachers and students from the Institute gave piano solos, performed tai chi and sang the song Tomorrow will be Better.

On May 16, Song Jishu, vice-general manager of Phoenix Publishing and Media Inc, discussed the development planning of UC Chile's Confucius Institute with Yang and the executive vice-president of UC.