The latest effort to boost cultural exchanges between Panama and China comes in the form of a new Confucius Institute at the University of Panama (UP), located in Panama City.

The new headquarters will include two classrooms for basic and advanced students of Mandarin, a library, an AV department and several administrative offices, said Junhui David Wu, general director of the UP's Confucius Institute.

Wu has been working on the project for 11 years, with the support of the UP and the Chinese Embassy, and this demonstration of partnership between the two countries continued in the financing, which was split equally between Panama and China.

China's presence in Panama can be traced back to at least 150 years ago, but the two countries cemented their bilateral relationship by formally establishing diplomatic ties in June.

"The Confucius Institute is a center for teaching Mandarin to people around the world...and this space will provide a venue for young Panamanians and officials from different institutions, or people from NGOs, who want to learn Mandarin," Wu explained.

According to Wu, the courses provided by the institute are designed for customs officials, border agents, police officers and businessmen who need to communicate in Chinese and the language teachers themselves will be supplied by Beijing International Studies University.

When completed, Panama's Confucius Institute will join a network of 500 such language centers around the world.