CONFUCIUS SAYS: STUDY CHINESE AND SUPPORT CHINA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 024844

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/28/2031
TAGS: SCUL PGOV CH
SUBJECT: CONFUCIUS SAYS: STUDY CHINESE AND SUPPORT CHINA
(C-TN6-00970)

REF: STATE 114006

Classified By: Political Internal Unit Chief Susan Thornton.
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Confucius Institutes are designed to promote the
study of Chinese language and culture, thereby increasing
familiarity with and support for China internationally,
according to Xu Lin, Director General of the Office of the
Chinese Language Council International (Hanban). Hanban,
which is in charge of the 109 Confucius Institutes that
have been established in 46 countries, is unable to meet
the extremely high demand for Chinese language training
overseas because it is seriously underfunded, Xu
complained, having only 50 staff and a budget of USD 25
million. Hanban is affiliated with the Ministry of
Education, which supplies its staff, and its budget and
plans are approved by a council of 12 Chinese government
entities led by State Councilor Chen Zhili. Xu and the
author of a recent book on China's "soft power" both
downplayed any connection between Confucius Institutes and
China's aspirations for global influence, claiming that the
foreign affairs bureaucracy is uninvolved in the poorly
coordinated and underfunded effort. End Summary.

Confucius Institutes: A "Platform" for Promoting Chinese
-------------- --------------


2. (C) Xu Lin, Director General of the Office of the
Chinese Language Council International (Hanban) that runs
China's Confucius Institutes overseas, recently told
Poloffs that such Institutes are "very hot" right now. As
of October 2006, 109 Confucius Institutes have been
established in 46 countries and Hong Kong and many more are
on the way. Hanban estimates that 30 million people
worldwide want to study Chinese. In the United States,
12 Confucius Institutes have been established and
more than 2,500 secondary schools want to offer Chinese
language training, Xu said.


3. (C) Confucius Institutes, according to Ms. Xu, are
"platforms" for providing instruction in Chinese language
and culture to overseas audiences. Once a local college,
secondary school, or other institution approaches a Chinese
Embassy or Consulate to express interest in establishing a
Chinese language program, they are put in touch with Hanban
to discuss the possible establishment of a Confucius
Institute. Hanban is extremely flexible in working with
local partners, Xu said, and can provide both teachers and
instructional materials as required, but local
organizations can provide their own if desired. According
to sample agreements provided by Ms. Xu, both Hanban and
the local partner must agree to provide financial and other
support to Confucius Institutes. Hanban will provide up to
USD 100,000 for initial start-up costs and may supply and
fund teachers as well as a Deputy Director. Local partners
are responsible for providing the physical space for the
Confucius Institute, as well as its Director, and must
agree to certain parameters regarding the institute's
activities. One example of Hanban's flexibility, Xu said,
is that, in Chicago, the Confucius Institute is run by the
local Department of Education, but in New York, is run by
the China Institute, a private organization that has a
relationship with Shanghai Normal University, which
provides the Institute's teachers.

Strategy: Study Chinese, Support China
--------------


4. (C) The goal of the Confucius Institutes is to promote
the study of Chinese language and enhance understanding of
China, and thereby hopefully increase the number of people
who support (or at least do not dislike) China, Ms. Xu
asserted. She denied any "political element" to the
institutes, stressing that their only mission is education.
The institutes do, however, help foreigners interested in
doing business in China by inviting experts to give
lectures on topics such as Chinese business law. Even
though many people want to study Chinese, not many can
actually visit China, so the Confucius Institutes become
their "window" on the language and culture, allowing them
to develop a "relationship" with China, Xu explained.


5. (C) Xu said there is no specific plan regarding the
number or locations of future Confucius Institutes,
remarking that establishment of Confucius Institutes is a
long-term strategy that will be supported "as long as is
necessary." Given that demand for institutes currently far
exceeds Hanban's ability to establish them, Ms. Xu said her

BEIJING 00024844 002 OF 003


current "strategy" is simply to work as far down her list
of organizations that have requested institutes as time and
funding allow.

Challenges
--------------


6. (C) Despite the popularity of Confucius Institutes, Ms.
Xu outlined a number of challenges that hinder her work.
Although Hanban is officially a "non-profit NGO affiliated
with the Ministry of Education," it is clearly an arm of
the Chinese government. The problem, Ms. Xu said, is her
work is overseen both by the Ministry of Education and the
"Chinese Language Council International," which is
comprised of 12 Chinese Government Ministries and agencies
and chaired by State Councilor Chen Zhili. Although the
Ministry of Education provides all of her staff, and she
herself is a career Ministry of Education bureaucrat, Xu
said all of Hanban's plans and budgets must be approved by
Chen Zhili's council, which includes: State Council
General Office, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance,
State Council Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, State Development and Reform Commission,
Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Culture, State
Administration of Radio Film and Television (China Radio
International),State Press and Publications
Administration, State Council Information Office and the
State Language Work Committee. Coordinating among so many
actors is "a major headache," Xu stated. The biggest
headache, she said, is the Ministry of Finance, who she
bothers "every day" for more money.


7. (C) Ms. Xu complained that Hanban is seriously under
funded: with a staff of 50 and a budget of only USD 25
million, she has neither the time nor the money to come
anywhere close to meeting demand for Confucius Institutes.
(Note: Xu stressed that the above figure accounts only for
Hanban's budget. The Chinese Government has a number of
other channels for promoting the study of Chinese as a
foreign language, so she had no idea the total amount of
money spent on all Chinese language and culture-related
programs. End note.) Finding and training qualified
teachers is another obstacle, Xu noted, as is developing
curriculum and teaching materials for modern students, many
of whom are not really interested in investing the effort
necessary to study a language as hard as Chinese. That
challenge is compounded by the fact that the Confucius
Institute's teaching methods are often too "stubborn" and
"traditional," adopting approaches more suited to Chinese,
not foreign, students such as an emphasis on grammar and
writing. A final problem, Xu said, is the disorganization
of the Chinese government itself on promoting Chinese
language and culture. A number of other Ministries,
including Culture and Foreign Affairs, have the "authority"
to do this kind of work, but none of them do so in a
coordinated fashion.

Foreign Policy Connection
--------------


8. (C) Confucius Institutes have nothing to do with Chinese
diplomacy, Ms. Xu asserted. The Confucius Institutes have
no diplomatic duties and no direct relationship with MFA.
In fact, Xu stated, MFA "doesn't know a thing" about public
diplomacy and education. Ms. Xu said Hanban's emphasis is
on the "hardware" of establishing Confucius Institutes and
providing them with the requisite teachers and books.


9. (C) In a separate conversation, freelance journalist
Zhou Qing'an told poloff that even though the Chinese
Government is keenly interested in promoting China's soft
power, its efforts to date, including the Confucius
Institutes, have been poorly coordinated and subject to
internal criticism. The Confucius Institutes are running
up against major funding problems, particularly in Africa,
Zhou related, arguing that the Ministry of Education has
not provided adequate operating funds. Some officials
reportedly have even written internal reports criticizing
Confucius Institutes around the world for being
"dilapidated and unappealing."


10. (C) Zhou, who recently co-authored a book about soft
power with Dean of the Tsinghua University School of
Journalism and Communications Li Xiguang, said there was a
brainstorming session at the State Council Information
Office in July 2006 about how China should pursue soft
power, attended by scholars, diplomats and other Government
officials. The impetus for the rising interest in soft
power in China is all the negative stories about China that
appear in the foreign press, Zhou said. The problem, Zhou
asserted, is that no agency has the lead on public
diplomacy for the Chinese Government and there is no

BEIJING 00024844 003 OF 003


concerted plan. The only thing everyone agrees on is that
something needs to be done to counter all the negative
stories in the foreign press. Promoting culture and
academic exchange is one thing, but the biggest problem is
that there is no agreement on what the actual substance of
Chinese soft power should be, Zhou stated.
SEDNEY