Chinese Ambassador Lu Xu has pledged continued support to Malawian youths through scholarships and cultural exchange programmes.
She said this on Saturday in Lilongwe during the Malawi finals of the 24th Chinese Bridge Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students.
The envoy said China provides nearly 100 scholarships to Malawian students each year to study in China, adding that over 1 000 students have already benefitted from the programme.
Said Xu: “I am looking forward to strengthening cooperation with friends from all walks of life in the Republic of Malawi, enhancing mutual understanding and support and promoting China-Malawi strategic partnership to a new height.
“Young people who participate in such programmes are not only academic ambassadors but are also shining diplomats who help promote Malawian culture in China.”
She said the competition aligns with China’s Global Civilisation Initiative, which promotes international cultural and people-to-people exchanges through the China-aided Confucius Institute (CI).
In his remarks, CI Malawi director Damazio Mfune, who is also a University of Malawi (Unima) Associate Professor of literary studies, said CI’s programmes have been crucial for linguistic and cultural exchange.
He said the programmes, including the competition, have academically helped raise interest in Chinese language and opened doors to academic opportunities abroad for local students.
“We have seen a growing number of students taking Chinese seriously and scholarships have become a strong motivator,” said Mfune.
Isaac Mwanza won this year’s competition and will travel to China to represent Malawi at the global finals and also participate in a cultural exchange programme.
The competition featured 13 students from Unima, Malawi University of Science and Technology, Mzuzu University, Exploits University and Malawi Institute of Management.
The event happened at the newly-completed Confucius Institute at Kamuzu College of Health Sciences Lilongwe Campus.
