On February 17th, the 2022 annual council meeting of the Confucius Institute jointly established by WUT and Université de Lorraine in France was held online. Xin Sijin, the Chinese president of the Confucius Institute Council and the secretary of the WUT Party Committee, and Luo Rong, the vice president, attended the meeting in WUT. Helene BOULANGER, the French president of the Confucius Institute Council and  president of Université de Lorraine, Doan TRAN, a member of the Metz Municipal Government, Karl TOMBER, the vice president of Université de Lorraine, Pierre DEGOTT, and other members of the French Council attended the meeting.

President Helene BOULANGER said that as the new president of Université de Lorraine, she was very honored to participate in the annual meeting of the Confucius Institute Council for the first time, and would continue to support the development of the Confucius Institute and further promote cooperation and exchanges between the two universities.

In his speech, Secretary Xin Sijin expressed his heartfelt thanks to Université de Lorraine and the Metz Municipal Government for their constant support for the construction of the Confucius Institute. He said that in the past year, the impact of the pandemic had not completely subsided and the global situation was complex, but the construction of the Confucius Institute jointly built by the two universities continued. Since its inauguration in 2011, the Confucius Institute had developed into a cooperation platform for Sino-French educational and cultural exchanges, an important window for local people to learn about China and understand Chinese culture, and a bridge of language, understanding, and friendship between the two universities as well as China and France.

At the meeting, the Council heard the work summary of the Confucius Institute in 2022 and the work plan in 2023, and reviewed and approved the financial final accounts in 2022 and the financial budget in 2023. The two sides also exchanged views on issues related to the construction of Confucius Institutes.

Vice President Luo Rong made a concluding speech, affirming the steady development of various undertakings and the fruitful achievements of the Confucius Institute, and introducing the next Chinese president proposed by WUT. She hoped that in the future, the two universities would work together to open a new chapter in the development of the Confucius Institute and contribute to enhancing international understanding and promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations in a diverse world.

Written by: Liu Qiong

Proofread by: Xiang Fan

Rewritten by: Zhao Yue

Edited by: Yu Mengmei, Chao Yijia, Li Tiantian

Source: International Office of WUT