On May 23, Ambassador GAO Wenqi attended the Rwanda division finals of the 25th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students and the 19th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students. The event was attended by over 300 participants, including Mr. Eric Niyongabo, representative of the Rwandan Minister of Education, Prof. Florien Nsanganwimana, Principal of the University of Rwanda-College of Education (UR-CE), Chinese and Rwandan directors of the Confucius Institute at the University of Rwanda, Chinese Medical Team to Rwanda, representatives of the Chinese community, teachers and students from across Rwanda.
In his speech, Ambassador Gao emphasized that over the years, the “Chinese Bridge” has served as a flagship project, playing a vital role in promoting cultural exchanges, facilitating practical cooperation, and enhancing people-to-people bonds between China and Rwanda. He noted that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the designation of Chinese as UN official language, China-Africa Year ofPeople-to-People Exchanges and the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Rwanda. He encouraged Rwandan youth to study Chinese diligently, share stories of China-Rwanda friendly cooperation, and serve as goodwill ambassadorsfor the friendship between the two nations.
The Rwandan side expressed gratitude for China's long-term support for Rwanda's education sector, stating that culture and education are key areas of bilateral cooperation. They encouraged Rwandan students to master Chinese to broaden their international horizons, acquire professional knowledge and skills, and contribute to national development and China-Rwanda friendship.
The finals of competition consisted of two segments: keynote speeches and talent shows. Nkurunziza Tharcisse（王一飞） from UR-CE and Gwiza Sabrina（桑彬） from Ecole Notre Dame de la Providence de Karubanda (ENDPK) Girls’ School stood out as winners, respectivelyin university and secondary school categories.