THE University of the South Pacific's Confucius Institute has graduated its first batch of students.

Last Thursday at Suva's Vine Yard Palace Restaurant, 70 students graduated after completing a 17-week Mandarin Conversation Course.

Institute director Denggui Li said the course allowed participant non-Chinese speakers to participate in Chinese culture and learn basic Mandarin.

"It was easy to learn course and there was good interaction among Chinese speakers and non-Chinese speakers in Mandarin after the completion of the course," Mr Li said.

"The first course was a success and we look forward to next semester when we hope to have more students."

Mr Li said having a branch of the institute in Fiji would help build stronger ties between Fiji and China.

"Fiji and China are good friends and with initiatives like these we can build more bridges between us and make our ties with each other stronger," he said.

Mr Li has encouraged interested individuals to register early for next semester's course.

"We want to spread the language to as many people as we can.

"We have seen that the Chinese community in Fiji is very large and studying Mandarin can make communication between the Chinese community and the local community."

The next semester at USP begins on July 23.