Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, helped by Chinese diplomats in the city, held this week the 2018 Joint Conference of Confucius Institutes in Africa, the People’s Daily reports.

The Chinese Communist Party newspaper quotes Mozambican Minister of Science, Higher Education and Vocational Education Jorge Olívio Penicela Nhambiu as saying at the opening ceremony of the two-day conference that Confucius Institutes spread Chinese culture worldwide.

“For the first time, Mozambique hosts a joint conference of the Confucius Institutes in Africa, marking an important stage of friendly co-operation between China and African countries, which is also an important milestone for education, culture and social exchanges between China and Africa,” Mr Nhambiu said.

The 54 branches of the Confucius Institute in 41 African countries promote Chinese language and culture, and had 149,171 registered students last year, the People’s Daily says.