The Confucius Institutes Portugal Alliance was officially established on March 28 at the Confucius Institute of the University of Lisbon, comprising five Portuguese universities that house these centers of teaching and cultural exchange.

The alliance brings together the Confucius Institutes of the universities of Minho, Lisbon, Aveiro, Coimbra and Porto. During the founding ceremony, the first rotating coordinator was elected and the work plan for the next two years was discussed.

The vice-rector of the University of Lisbon, João Peixoto, pointed out that, through the partnership with Tianjin Foreign Studies University, more than 20,000 Portuguese have studied Chinese at the Confucius Institute of the University of Lisbon over the last 17 years.

Zhou Honglei, one of the heads of Tianjin Foreign Studies University, stressed that the alliance will allow for the joint development of teaching materials, the standardization of teacher training and the creation of a digital platform for cultural sharing.

(Source: XINHUA Português, on March 30)