China and Portugal on Tuesday signed an agreement to launch a pilot programme that will allow teachers coming from China to teach Mandarin as a foreign language in Portuguese high schools. The initiative starts in September, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported.

The Mandarin courses will be elective and are expected to benefit a total of 400 high school students from 21 schools in Portugal.

Portuguese Minister of Education and Science, Nuno Crato, and China’s Ambassador to Portugal, Huang Songfu – with the diplomat acting on behalf of China’s Confucius Institute – signed the agreement in Lisbon.

Deals were also signed with representatives from eight Portuguese higher education institutions that will provide support to the Chinese teachers working in the Portuguese high schools.

“Language is a very important connection between two peoples,” Mr Huang said, speaking at the signing ceremony. He added students who become fluent in Chinese “will be able to better keep in touch with Chinese friends”.

China’s Ambassador to Portugal also pointed out Mandarin is currently the most widely spoken language in the world, but also one of the most difficult to learn. One year “is not enough” to master it, he noted.

Mr Huang stated – quoted by Chinese official news agency Xinhua – that he hoped the programme would produce excellent Chinese language teachers for Portugal. He added he hoped the programme would aid bilateral exchange in areas including politics, trade, education, science and technology, and culture.

Also speaking at the signing ceremony, Portugal’s Minister of Education and Science said he hoped the pilot programme could be extended to more schools in the future.