The Citigroup announced in Beijing on Wednesday to donate 865,000 yuan (some US$107,800) for an English teaching competition program to be carried on in four provinces and region in southwest China.

Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup China Richard Stanley made the announcement at a press conference held at the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC).

The program, named "Citigroup Innovative English Teaching Competition" and to be organized by the CPAFFC, will be held in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guizhou, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces from 2006 to 2008.

The program aims at improving the English teaching in China's underdeveloped southwest region.

Li Xiaolin, vice president of CPAFFC, thanked Richard Stanley for the donation and said she hopes the Citigroup will continue to support China's public welfare service.

According to Li, the CPAFFC will invite more than 100 teachers to participate in the competition. Through the competition, the teachers can share good English teaching methods and experiences with each other and thus improve their English teaching, she said.

Funded by the Citigroup, the CPAFFC has held training classes for English teachers in Guizhou, Guangxi, Yunnan and Sichuan since 2001. In 2003, the Citigroup donated US$100,000 to build English book libraries in schools in southwest China and so far 11 such libraries have been set up, serving more than 20,000 students.

(Xinhua News Agency April 27, 2006)