Confucius Institute

This month the University of Texas at San Antonio celebrated the opening of its Confucius Institute.  The aim of the institute is to provide an awareness of Chinese culture, history, and society through Chinese language instruction and educational exchanges in partnership with the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China. 

“China is a global economic and political power.  By adopting an awareness of China’s culture, history, society and economy, we are equipping our students with the tools they need to establish strong and successful business partnerships once they graduate,” said Dr. Don Lien, director of UTSA’s East Asia Institute and Confucius Institute.

However, the fact that China now wields such power and influence has left many critics weary of China’s true agenda when it comes to the establishment of the Confucius Institute, which now has over 300 locations in 88 different countries.  All institutes receive the majority of their funding from the Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing. 

  “The new Chinese government has always worried about the world’s misconception of their political actions.  It hasn’t been that long since they opened their stock market up.  So in order for China to tell the world that it wants to be a partner instead of an enemy, it is trying to teach the world about its culture.  The idea here is peace and understanding of each other,”  Lien said.