Unveiling Ceremony of the Confucius Institute: A Collaboration Between UIBE and our School
On the afternoon of December 6, Paris time, the inauguration ceremony of the Confucius Institute, set up jointly by ESCE and the Beijing University of Economics and International Business (UIBE), took place. The event was attended by a number of well-known personalities, including Lu Shaye, Chinese Ambassador to France, Nicolas Yijie, Head of the French Ministry of Education’s Department of Education, Sport, Scientific Research and Chinese Language, Jacques Kossovsky, Mayor of Paris, Xiao Liang, President of the France-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Zhou Jiagui, Ministerial Counselor for Education of the Chinese Embassy in France, Li Wenguo, Deputy General Representative of the French Representative Office of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and Jean-Marie Kambasel, President of the Association France-Asie.
Zhao Lingshan, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the China International Chinese Language Education Foundation, delivered an online speech. Hong Junjie, President of Shandong University of Finance and Economics, and Christophe Boisseau, President of ESCE, also spoke at the ceremony. The event was co-hosted by Xie Ling, the Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute, and Li Jianle, the French Director.
Zhao Lingshan warmly congratulated the Confucius Institute at the ESCE on its official inauguration. He pointed out that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, as well as the 20th anniversary of the Confucius Institute brand. As a platform for language teaching and cultural exchange between China and France, the Confucius Institute has always been at the forefront of promoting cultural exchange and cooperation between the two countries. The establishment of the Confucius Institute at ESCE is of great significance. It represents a major milestone in the field of educational exchanges and cooperation between China and France. It is hoped that the two universities will use the Confucius Institute as a platform to leverage their respective academic strengths, engage in comprehensive and in-depth cooperation, and create a new chapter in their development.
Hong Junjie expressed his sincere gratitude to all those who have made tireless efforts in establishing the Confucius Institutes at both universities. He emphasized that the ESCE is one of the key partners of Shandong University of Finance and Economics. Since the establishment of friendly relations in June 2019, the two universities have engaged in deep cooperation in areas such as joint student training, faculty exchanges, and collaborative research, reaching a new level of pragmatic cooperation. The establishment of the Confucius Institute marks an important milestone in this partnership. Hong expressed hope that the two institutions would use the Confucius Institute as a platform to further enhance cooperation in areas such as international Chinese education, joint student training, scientific research, industry-education integration, and more. This will foster mutual understanding and learning between Chinese and French civilizations, promote educational exchanges and people-to-people connections, and contribute to the growth and strength of both universities.
Christophe Boisseau warmly welcomed all the guests and reviewed the development process of the Confucius Institute. He highlighted that ESCE has always placed great importance on Chinese education and is the first higher business school in France to integrate Chinese language teaching into its curriculum. He emphasized that today’s unveiling ceremony marks a significant milestone in the tangible cooperation between the two universities. Christophe and his team are committed to the mission of running an open institution, dedicated to creating a multicultural learning platform for students, while continuously enhancing the quality of talent development.
At the ceremony, Ambassador Lu Shaye, Chief Superintendent Nicolas Yijie, President Hong Junjie, and President Christophe Boisseau took the stage to jointly unveil the Confucius Institute. Following the unveiling, President Hong Junjie, on behalf of Shandong University of Finance and Economics, donated more than 50 works of calligraphy and painting to the ESCE.
After the ceremony, the guests visited the inauguration exhibition of calligraphy and painting organized jointly by the two schools for the Confucius Institute and observed the live creation of calligraphy and paintings
The unveiling ceremony was attended by key representatives from the school’s Scientific Research Office, Graduate School, International Exchange and Cooperation Office, School of International Business and Economics, School of Management Science and Engineering, and School of Art. Also present were representatives from UNESCO, Huawei France, ZTE’s French subsidiary, China Unicom’s French branch, Chinese-funded companies in France such as Sany Heavy Industry France, French companies including European Electric Power and Alstom, as well as representatives from the Confucius Institutes of Novo Business School, Université de la Cité, and Brittany. In total, nearly one hundred attendees were present at the ceremony.
The Confucius Institute at ESCE is the first of its kind established by our school and the first business-oriented Confucius Institute set up overseas by Shandong Province. The official unveiling of this institute marks a significant milestone in the high-quality development of our school and lays a solid foundation for building an internationally recognized, high-level financial and economic institution.