On May 13, a ceremony was held to officially launch the Business Confucius Institute hosted by ESCP Europe with BFSU as its Chinese partner.

Attending the launching ceremony were Zhai Jun, Chinese Ambassador to France, Yang Jin, Minister-Counselor for Education, Buon Tan, Deputy of Paris & President of Groupe d’amitié France-Chine of the National Assembly, Jérôme  Chartier, First Vice President of the Île de France Regional Council, Frank Bournois, Dean of ESCP Europe, Yan Guohua, Vice President of BFSU as well as people representing Chinese businesses in France, BFSU alumni association in France and French business and education communities. The ceremony was co-chaired by Zhang Min, Chinese director of the Confucius Institute and Léon Laulusa, foreign director of the Institute.

Zhai said he was glad to see closer people-to-people ties between China and France and stronger motivation of people from both countries, young people in particular, to learn more about each other’s language and culture this year as we celebrated the 55th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations. The launch of the Business Confucius Institute is a testimony of our joint efforts to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of both countries regarding continued cooperation in the field of culture, education and language learning.

Frank Bournois believed that the Business Confucius Institute hosted by ESCP Europe would serve as a window for the French and other Europeans to learn Chinese and know more about modern China.

Yan Guohua, on behalf of BFSU, presented to the Business Confucius Institute a piece of Chinese painting titled “Peonies” as a gift. According to Yan, BFSU now offers courses in 101 languages and is known as the cradle for diplomats, while ESCP Europe is one of the top business schools in Europe with 6 campuses across Europe. With the unique strengths of our two partners, this Business Confucius Institute will further facilitate Chinese language teaching and spread of the Chinese culture, thus contributing to China-France cooperation and exchanges in the field of education, culture and business.