Centered on the theme of “To facilitate the integration of the Confucius Institute into the university and local community”, the 7th Confucius Institute Conference will be held at China National Convention Center from Dec. 16 to 18. When the time comes, over 2,000 guests will attend the conference, including host university presidents and representatives from the Confucius Institutes in 108 countries as well as their Chinese counterparts.

The opening ceremony scheduled for the evening of Dec. 16 will be presided over by Yuan Guiren, Minister of Education and Vice Chairman of the Council of the Confucius Institute Headquarters, with the keynote speech delivered by Liu Yandong, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, State Councilor and Chair of the Council of the Confucius Institute Headquarters. The ceremony will see the certain awards go to outstanding individuals, Confucius Institutes (Classrooms) and Chinese partners. The conference will also comprise the Presidents’ Forum, Panel Discussions, the Information Fair of the Headquarters’ Program and the Chinese Teaching Materials Exhibition. Delegates will carry out in-depth discussions on such topics as the implementation of Confucius China Study Plan, the formulation of development plans for Confucius Institutes around the world, Chinese teacher training major and Chinese teacher training base, Confucius Institute full-time teaching position, quality assessment of Confucius Institutes and model Confucius Institute buildup.

The annual conference is a grand gala of the Confucius Institutes around the globe. Having been successfully held for six times, it aims to foster close cooperation and exchange by drawing on the past experience, and advance the development of the Confucius Institutes in a rapid and sound manner.

Up to now, there have been 400 Confucius Institutes and over 500 Confucius Classrooms set up in 108 countries. In 2012, the total number of registered students has reached 655,000. Over 16,000 cultural activities of all kinds have been held, attracting 9.48 million participants. The number of students taking all kinds of Chinese tests has amounted to 500,000.