China urges Nigerian students to embrace Mandarin

China has urged Nigerian students to embrace Mandarin, saying it is a key to strengthening ties between both countries.

The Counsellor of the Chinese Cultural Centre, Yang Jianxing, stated this over the weekend in Abuja at the 19th Nigeria Division of the Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition for School Students.

While describing the event as a significant platform for promoting mutual understanding through language and culture, he said the competition represented a major milestone in educational and cultural cooperation between China and Nigeria.

He noted that having an open mind to learning new languages could open up opportunities for young people.

According to him, the Chinese language serves as a gateway to understanding Chinese civilisation, carrying “the poetic beauty of classical literature, the wisdom embedded in idioms and historical allusions, and the profound heritage of thousands of years of history.”

He urged the students to use the competition as an opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the language and pursue greater academic and cultural achievements in the future.

He also noted that China-Nigeria relations offer valuable opportunities to expand cooperation in education, culture, the arts and sports.

Yang said the Chinese Embassy and the China Cultural Centre would continue to support Confucius Institutes and Chinese language classrooms across Nigeria, improve access to Chinese language education, and create more opportunities for youth exchanges.

“The Embassy and the Cultural Center will seize this opportunity to further support Confucius Institutes and Chinese language classrooms in improving the quality of their programs and expanding access to Chinese language learning; to actively build platforms for youth exchanges between the two countries; and to continue holding diverse cultural events so that more Nigerian young people can experience the charm of Chinese culture and carry the torch of China-Nigeria friendship into the next generation,” he said.

The Permanent Secretary of the Education Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory, Mrs Joy Okeke, also reaffirmed the importance of cultural and educational cooperation between Nigeria and China as a driver of mutual development.

She described the event as a symbol of a long-standing partnership between the two countries, emphasising the role of language in shaping civilisation and promoting global understanding.

She noted that its significance goes beyond communication, saying: “Language is not just a tool for communication but a vital means of transmitting civilisation, generational cohesion, commerce and one-to-one human adaptability and acceptance. It is not gainsaying that these factors play a major role in the continuity of human existence, thus the world itself.”

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