July 30th, 2012 - The 2012 Roundtable of the Council of the Confucius Institute Headquarters, hosted by Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters and undertaken by Department of Education, Fujian Province and Xiamen University, was opened in Wuyishan City, Fujian Province. Mr. Hao Ping, Vice Minister of Education, Mdm. Xu Lin, Director-General of Hanban and Chief Executive of Confucius Institute Headquarters, Mdm. Chen Hua, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and Vice Governor of Fujian Province attended and addressed the Roundtable, which was participated by council members, honorary members and senior advisers of Confucius Institute Headquarters both from home and abroad.

Mr. Hao Ping fully affirmed what Confucius Institutes have achieved over the years and emphasized that the "National Plan for Education Development during the 12th Five-Year Plan Period" released by the Ministry of Education highly values international Chinese promotion and lists "continuous support for the development of Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms and the improvement of international status of Chinese language" as an important part of "international educational exchange and cooperation project". This fully demonstrates that the Chinese government puts the development of Confucius Institutes high on the agenda and stands ready to provide long-term and strong support for Confucius Institutes.

Mdm. Xu Lin noted that in the past 8 years, Confucius Institutes have developed vigorously and been warmly welcomed by various countries. For now, they have entered into a new stage of development. Being mainstreamed into foreign universities and local communities, improving schooling quality and initiating "China Study Plan" underpin the long-term and stable development of Confucius Institutes and will steer Confucius Institutes to a still higher stage.

Mdm. Chen Hua expressed heartfelt thanks to the Ministry of Education and Hanban for their care and support for the educational undertaking in Fujian Province and warmly welcomed distinguished guests from worldwide. Universities and relevant institutions in Fujian Province have engaged in the construction of 60 Confucius Institutes. Xiamen University is the Chinese partner of 15 Confucius Institutes and 37 Confucius Classrooms. International educational exchange has evolved into an important approach to boost friendship and mutual understanding between Fujian and all countries and regions in the world.

Chinese and foreign representatives from the United States, Germany, Russia, Japan, Turkey and other countries launched wide and in-depth discussions and exchanged views at the two-day meeting on such topics as "how to promote Confucius Institutes to be better integrated with host universities and communities", "quality and assessment of Confucius Institutes" and "China Study Plan", offering suggestions for the sustainable development of Confucius Institutes.