On 17 March 2017, H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), visited the Confucius Institute at Ateneo de Manila University (CI-AdMU) and exchanged views with the teachers. Dr. Ellen Palanca, Director of CI-AdMU, Dr. Liang Guanghan, Chinese Director of CI-AdMU, as well as Ms. Huang Ying, Director of General Affairs and Coordination Division of ACC, accompanied the visit.
Dr. Ellen Palanca and Dr. Liang Guanghan made a brief introduction on CI-AdMU, and said that the institute was co-founded by Sun Yat-Sen University and Ateneo de Manila University with 14 teaching venues in the Philippines. Since its inception in 2006, it has offered 42 cycles of Chinese Language Classes with a total number of more than 58,000 registered students. In addition, CI-AdMU actively helps training local Chinese Language teachers, carries out various academic cultural activities, promotes mutual visits of students from both countries and advances China-Philippines relations. CI-AdMU wishes to leverage the platform of ACC to further promote China-Philippines educational exchange and enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between both peoples.
Secretary-General Yang Xiuping highly commended CI-AdMU for its contribution to promote Chinese Language in the Philippines as well as Philippines-China people-to-people exchanges. She briefed on the fruitful outcomes of ASEAN-China educational exchange and said there are currently 31 Confucius Institutes, 35 Confucius Classes and 4 Cultural Centres established in ASEAN countries. In 2016, the total number of two-way students’ mobility is expected to exceed 200,000. The "Upgraded Version of the China-ASEAN Double 100,000 Students Plan" proposed by Chinese leader at the 19th ASEAN-China Summit had set the new direction of cooperation between both sides. ACC would like to keep contact with CI-AdMU, to jointly push forward ASEAN-China people-to-people exchanges.