On the morning of June 5th, the 2025 Council of the Confucius Institute at the University of Aveiro in Portugal was held at our university. Paulo Jorge Ferreira, the President of the University of Aveiro and the Portuguese - side Chairman of the Confucius Institute, Cong Mingcai, the President of our university and the Chinese - side Chairman of the Confucius Institute, Vice - President Liu Fengguang, the Portuguese - side and Chinese - side Directors of the Confucius Institute, Portuguese - side Council members, the person - in - charge of the Office of the Confucius Institute and relevant staff participated in the meeting.
President Cong Mingcai pointed out that since its establishment, the Confucius Institute at the University of Aveiro has achieved excellent results under the joint efforts of China and Portugal, and has become an important bridge and link for the exchanges and cooperation between the two universities.
President Paulo Jorge Ferreira said that since the establishment of the Confucius Institute at the University of Aveiro, it has closely cooperated with the local government, successfully promoted Chinese courses to many surrounding cities, and promoted Chinese to become a compulsory or optional course in primary and secondary schools. The cultural activities held by the Confucius Institute are deeply popular among students and local people, and have actively promoted the educational cooperation and people - to - people exchanges between China and Portugal. It is expected that in the future, the two universities will take the Confucius Institute as a platform to carry out more cooperation in talent training, professional construction, academic research and other fields.
At the council meeting, Leonardo Margutiário, the Portuguese - side Director of the Confucius Institute, and Cheng Cuicui, the Chinese - side Director, reported on the work of the Confucius Institute at the University of Aveiro in Portugal in 2024 and the key work in 2025. After carefully listening to the report, the council members reviewed and voted on the 2024 financial final accounts and the 2025 financial budget of the Confucius Institute. In addition, the two sides had in - depth discussions on issues such as academic exchanges between the two universities and the expansion of cooperation in multiple fields, and reached a consensus.
The holding of this council meeting not only pointed out the direction for the future development of the Confucius Institute at the University of Aveiro, but also was a specific practice of thoroughly implementing the important instructions in President Xi Jinping's congratulatory letter on the 20th anniversary of the Confucius Institute. Our university will rely on the platform of the Confucius Institute to continuously deepen educational cooperation with universities in Portuguese - speaking countries, and inject new cultural connotations into promoting people - to - people exchanges and cultural mutual - learning between China and Portugal. (Zhou Rui)
