Hanban provides a grant for the establishment of the London Confucius Institute at the University of London

Project narrative

On June 14, 2005, the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London (SOAS) and Hanban (Confucius Institute Headquarters) established the first Confucius Institute in the UK. The partnering Chinese University is Beijing Foreign Studies University. In June 2013, SOAS and Beijing Foreign Studies University convened the first Confucius Institute Council at Beijing Foreign Studies University and formally signed a cooperation agreement to cement the Confucius Institute. Under the agreement Hanban is obligated to provide 3,000 volumes of teaching materials, annual funds, 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 June 7, 2013 a formal implementation agreement was signed between SOAS and Beijing Foreign Studies University. Funding for the institute was first dispersed in 2010, receiving £74,487.85 GBP. In 2011, the institute received £22,218.44 GBP, in 2012 £47,547.45 GBP, in 2013 £30,494.54 GBP, in 2014 £27,696.95 GBP, and in 2015 £6,284.19 GBP. The institute provides various courses, programs, and events, including the "Confucius Institute Scholarship". In 2018, the institute held a training seminar for nearly 200 local Chinese language teachers in the UK. In 2017, the number of registered students was 1,617.