A prestigious Beijing-based university will jointly set up a Confucius Institute in a Japanese University, which will mark the third in Japan and the 42nd in the world.

Beijing Language and Culture University signed an agreement with the Japanese Hokuriku University here Friday.

Under the agreement, the two universities will found a Confucius Institute in the Japanese one to launch the Chinese language courses, Chinese speeches and seminars. They will also give the HSK tests, a Chinese language testing system, said Wang Lujiang, director with the school affairs committee of the Beijing Language and Culture University.

The Chinese university has been in close academic contact with its Japanese peer, Wang said. They forged "sister-school" ties in 2001, and in 2003 inked a deal of co-training undergraduate program.

The new institute will open in the coming April, with an investment of from Hokuriku University.

The Confucius Institute came into being with the increasing popularity of the Chinese language in the world.

Despite the strained relations between China and Japan, three Japanese universities applied to set up Confucius Institute in 2005, namely Ritsumeikan University, Obirin University and Aichi University.

Editor: Wing