A Jakarta-based Chinese language school will establish the Kongzi Institute in conjunction with Beijing Hanban here to introduce Chinese language and culture to Indonesians, local press said Saturday.

The institute will be built at Bina Terampil Insan Persada (BTIP) school complex in central Jakarta, reported English daily The Jakarta Post.

"We are very pleased to be appointed by the Beijing Hanban to establish the institute," BTIP's director Philip Liwan Pangkey was quoted as saying.

"This is an acknowledgment of our efforts for years to spread the use of Chinese language in Indonesia."

He said the mission of Kongzi was similar to the Netherlands' Erasmus Huis, Germany's Goethe Institute and France's Alians Francais, that have existed in Indonesia for years.

BTIP, which has been teaching Chinese language since 1996, said the start-up project would need cooperation with several universities from Indonesia and China.

(Xinhua News Agency September 29, 2007)