Irish students will be able to take Chinese as a Leaving Certificate exam subject, a key step in efforts to boost Ireland’s marketability in the world’s fastest growing major economy...There is a growing awareness elsewhere in Europe that learning Chinese will give students an edge in the job market of the future.

MU’s branch of the Confucius Institute has signed a one-year deal with the North Callaway School district in Kingdom city, Missouri to introduce Kindergarten through 8th grade students to Chinese culture and language.

The event was hosted by China's Confucius Institute in Morocco. It's the second time the Chinese bridge competition has taken place here. On Saturday 26 contestants from across the country took part -- and their ages ranged from 14 to 62 years old Tkassit Abdullah. The theme of composition this year is "China and I".

Chinese culture is playing an increasingly important role in regional and global economic development, and is making its presence felt in a variety of international arenas...I am confident the establishment of the Confucius Institute in Bangor will provide our students with unprecedented access to many remarkable aspects of Chinese culture.

The two countries should expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges so as to consolidate the foundation of their friendship. He said they should make full use of the Confucius Institute and the Chinese culture center in Bangkok to further enhance cooperation in areas including culture, education, tourism and youth exchanges.

These were the words of China’s highest ranking female politician on the second day of her trip. Madam Liu Yandong, the most powerful woman in the country’s ruling Communist Party, said she “especially” selected Northern Ireland as the first stop on her European tour. She was speaking as she opened the new Confucius Institute at the University of Ulster..

Kung fu, pandas or Peking Opera are what one would commonly associate with China - but they are also vital cogs in a massive "soft power" exercise that China hopes will give it more global voice and an image makeover. It is also proving to be a tough challenge for policymakers, as the growth of the country's "soft power" has not been in tandem with that of its "hard power".

Steven W. Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute (PRI) and a renowned China expert, will testify before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs today on the subject of the various "Confucius Institutes" being put in place all over the United States. These institutes... represent a significant threat to U.S. national security and an attempt to enhance China's "soft power" globally.