Hanban provides a $150,000 USD grant for the establishment of the Confucius Institute at Victoria University of Wellington

Project narrative

On June 7, 2010, the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) and the Victoria University of Wellington signed an agreement to establish the Confucius Institute at Victoria University of Wellington. As part of the agreement, Hanban is obligated to provide 3,000 volumes of teaching materials, a $150,000 USD start-up fund, and numbers of Chinese instructors. The funds are dispersed through a local Bank of China account or other approved bank account created by the institute. The agreement has a 5-year validity and automatically renews at the end of every 5-year term. On the same day, the Victoria University of Wellington and Xiamen University, the cooperating partner, signed a supplementary implementation agreement. Xiamen University agreed to provide visiting teachers and support student initiatives. On June 19, 2010, the Confucius Institute at Victoria University of Wellington was launched with an inauguration ceremony attended by then Vice President Xi Jinping. The institute is the third Confucius Institute to be established in New Zealand. The institute supports various Confucius Classrooms and Mandarin Language Assistants -- Chinese student tutors -- to expand its Chinese language capabilities to local primary and secondary schools. On September 28, 2020, the Victoria University of Wellington and Xiamen University signed an agreement to renew their cooperation on the Confucius Institute. Under this agreement, Xiamen University agreed to provide annual funding to the institute based on needs and fund a Deputy Director hired from Xiamen University. The Confucius Institute at Victoria University of Wellington oversaw the following 10 Confucius Classrooms: - ID#91859: Rotorua Boys’ high School - ID#91860: Wellington College - ID#91861: Wanganui High School - ID#91862: Wellington East Girls’ College - ID#91863: Wellington Girls' College - ID#91864: Te Kura Kaupapa Motuhake O Tawhiuau, Murupara - ID#91865: Western Heights High School - ID#91866: Tauranga Intermediate School - ID#91867: Samuel Marsden Collegiate School - ID#91868: Te Aro School