BLOGOSPHERE

  Confucius Institutes are partnerships between Chinese entities and schools in other countries, arranged and funded in part by Hanban, which is affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education. There are more than 500 Confucius Institutes worldwide and 96 located at colleges and universities in the United States as of December 2018. Some researchers, government officials and others have raised questions about whether the institutes are sources of undue Chinese influence.  The stated aim of the institute is to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally and facilitate cultural exchanges. The organisation has been criticized because of concerns regarding increasing Chinese influence in the countries in which it operates. However, many programmes have renegotiated their contacts to promote the academic freedom of host universities. School officials, researchers and others in many countries describe the benefits and concerns related to th...