Chinese Education Minister Zhou Jisaid on Tuesday (Oct 17) that China will set up several Confucius Institutes in Russia next year to cope with the growing demand from Russian people to learn Chinese.

The Confucius Institute is a non-profit school specializing in Chinese language education and cultural communication.

Zhou said the Russian government also attaches great importance to Chinese language education and the two governments have signed an agreement specializing in supporting language teaching in both countries.

According to Zhou, there are about 10,000 people in Russia learning Chinese, up 40 percent on last year.

On the upcoming China Year in Russia, Zhou said, the two sides will strengthen cooperation in language education.

China will provide different types of textbooks and reading materials for different levels of learners and teaching staff will also be provided with extra teaching materials, Zhou said.

A Chinese language competition will be held in Moscow next year, the minister added.

China has helped to introduce Chinese as a degree course in Russian universities and supported the establishment of a Chinese language center in Russian universities, Zhou said.

China will also provide audio-video teaching materials and a Chinese testing service to facilitate teaching and learning Chinese in Russia, he added.

"Language is the bridge of friendship. To expand Chinese teaching abroad is conducive to stepping up understanding between China and the world," Zhou said.

Editor: Wing