Chinese top advisor Jia Qinglin unveiled the plaque for the opening of the world's first Confucius Business Institute on Wednesday in London.

 

 

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), unveils the bronze plate for the Confucius Institute for Business with Howard Davies, director of the London School of Economics during the inauguration of the institute in London, capital of Britain, Oct. 25, 2006.

 

The Confucius Institute for Business was jointly established by Beijing-based Tsinghua University and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

 

The institute aims to promote Chinese for business to the local community and foster greater understanding of business culture in China.

 

This is the sixth Confucius Institute to be established in Britain but the first of its kind.

 

Nick Byrne, director of the LSE Language Centre, where the institute will be based, explained: "The initiative with LSE is slightly different to other institutes, in that it has an explicit business focus. In the first instance the focus will be on Chinese language for specific purposes, that is, Chinese for business. The longer term will include promoting educational cooperation between China and the UK."

 

At the opening ceremony, Jia Qinglin said wider cooperation between the two countries will require that more people be proficient in the languages and cultures of both sides. The institute will play an important role in promoting exchanges in the fields of economy, technology and culture.

 

He also presented a Confucius statue to the renowned London-based business school.

 

The headquarters of the Confucius College organization is in Beijing. There are already 80 regular Confucius Colleges located in 36 countries.

 

Confucius, or Kongfuzi, was a famous Chinese thinker, educator and philosopher, whose theories have long had a significant influence in China and East Asia.

 

Jia Qinglin arrived in Britain on Sunday, the first leg of his four-nation European tour, which will also take him to Lithuania, Estonia and Ukraine.

 

(CRI October 27, 2006)