[File photo]

China has plans to establish Confucius Institutes in all the countries along the Belt and Road route, in an effort to promote Chinese language and culture. This will benefit both China and the Belt and Road nations, according to Hao Ping, vice minister of the Ministry of Education.

At a conference held in Kunming, Yunnan province on Nov. 11, Hao stated that 51 countries along the Belt and Road route have already established 134 Confucius Institutes and 127 Confucius Classrooms, while 460,000 students have registered to study Chinese and Chinese culture in 2016.

In 2017, China plans to establish Confucius Institutes in another nine countries, achieving the goal of covering all Belt and Road countries, Hao added.

“Confucius Institutes should play a more important role in the construction of the Belt and Road. China should attach importance to the training of professional teachers, as well as to targeted course content,” Zhu Chongshi, headmaster of Xiamen University, said during the conference.

Confucius Institutes are named after the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius. They serve as non-profit public institutions aimed to help foreigners understand China by studying the language and culture at universities overseas. The first such institute was established in 2004.

A total of 2.1 million people are currently studying Chinese language and culture in 511 Confucius Institutes and 1,073 Confucius Classrooms across 140 countries and regions, the Xinhua News Agency reported.