Limassol, 20 June 2023

Professor Panayiotis Zaphiris, Rector of Cyprus University of Technology,

Professor Zhu Zefei, President of Hangzhou Dianzi University,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

Kalispera! It gives me great pleasure to attend the launch ceremony of the Confucius Institute of the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT). Congratulations to both CUT and its Chinese partner, Hangzhou Dianzi University (HDU)!

In 2021, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Cyprus, President Xi Jinping and then President Nicos Anastasiades agreed to upgrade our bilateral relations into a strategic partnership, where they stressed the importance of enhancing exchanges and mutual learning between our two ancient civilizations.

In my view, the Confucius Institute serves such purpose. In fact, this Confucius Institute is the second of its kind in Cyprus. The first was set up at the University of Cyprus in 2014. It has lit up the enthusiasm of Chinese learning among many Cypriots. Recently, it successfully held the Chinese Bridge competition. I am confident that this new one will build on the success of the first one and grow from strength to strength. The Confucius Institute is important, because of three reasons.

First, it offers high-quality education of the Chinese language and culture. The Chinese language is one of the six official languages of the UN and one of the most spoken languages in the world. Apart from the 1.4 billion speakers in China, nearly 200 million international friends in over 180 countries and regions have studied Chinese. Language is a vehicle of culture. Here, you may also study Chinese poem, music, painting, calligraphy, cuisine and other aspects of the colorful Chinese culture. No doubt, you will be intrigued by it!

Second, the Confucius Institute opens a window on the Chinese civilization. As you study here, you will personally feel the key features of the Chinese civilization, such as continuity, creativity, unity, inclusiveness, and peace. You will understand why China is committed to its own path of development; why the Chinese nation fears no challenges; why national unity is the core interests of China; why China stands for exchanges and integration among cultures; and why China is always a builder of world peace, contributor to global development, and defender of the international order.

Third, the Confucius Institute celebrates dialogue among civilizations. Not long ago, President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI). It calls for respecting the diversity of world civilizations and promotes equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness among civilizations. Cyprus is a carrier of the ancient Greek civilization. In this context, Confucius Institute here will be a place for our two civilizations to meet and appreciate each other. On such basis, it will make the garden of world civilizations even more beautiful.

I look forward to that. And in conclusion, I wish the Confucius Institute here a great success! And I wish more cooperation outcomes between CUT and HDU! Thank you!