On October 8, the 20th anniversary celebration of the Confucius Institute at the University of Manchester was held at the University of Manchester. Duncan Ivison, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester; Fiona Devine, Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and UK Chair of the Confucius Institute; and Tang Rui, Consul General of China in Manchester, attended the celebration and delivered congratulatory remarks. Chen Xing, Vice-President of Beijing Normal University, delivered remarks via video. Guests including Chinese and foreign directors of multiple Confucius Institutes and representatives from the Chinese and British education, academic, and cultural sectors attended the celebration to review the Confucius Institute's 20-year development journey and look ahead to the future of Chinese language education and China-UK people-to-people and cultural exchange. The celebration was moderated by Fiona Devine.

Duncan Ivison reviewed the Institute's development since its establishment in 2006, noting that its relocation to Waterloo Place in 2016 and its recognition as one of 30 Model Confucius Institutes worldwide were milestones in its growth. He affirmed that through academic and cultural activities, the Institute has built a platform for exchange between China and the local community, further expanding its ties with the Manchester community. He also thanked successive academic leads, Chinese and foreign directors, teachers, and volunteers for their contributions to the Institute's development.

Tang Rui congratulated the Confucius Institute on its 20th anniversary and thanked the University of Manchester, Beijing Normal University, and friends from all sectors in China and the UK for their long-term support. He fully affirmed the Institute's achievements in rooting itself in the local community and in Chinese language teaching, teacher training, and China-UK cultural exchange, noting that the Institute has become an important bridge for promoting educational cooperation and people-to-people and cultural exchange between the two countries.

Chen Xing congratulated the Confucius Institute on its 20th anniversary and expressed gratitude to the University of Manchester for its long-standing support. He noted that over the past two decades, the Institute has grown into an important platform for China-UK cultural and educational exchange, bringing contemporary China closer to the local community and turning people-to-people and cultural exchange into long-term, practical cooperation. In May this year, during a visit to the Institute by Yu Jihong, President of Beijing Normal University and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the two universities renewed their cooperation agreement, opening a new chapter for future collaboration. He thanked Duncan Ivison and the University of Manchester's leadership for their sustained support of the Institute and expressed his hope that the Institute will continue to serve as an important platform for mutual learning and mutual understanding between the two universities and the two countries.

During the celebration, a panel discussion titled "The World China Made: After the Urban Century" was also held. Wang Jianguo, Professor at Southeast University; Ole Bouman, Professor at Tongji University; and Kerry Brown, Professor at King's College London, took part in the discussion, exchanging views with guests on China's urban transformation and its global impact. The discussion was moderated by Deljana Iossifova, UK Director of the Confucius Institute. Afterwards, guests visited a preview of the exhibition "Building China: People's Infrastructure" and attended a reception, where they exchanged experiences on the Institute's work.

The Confucius Institute at the University of Manchester is jointly established by Beijing Normal University and the University of Manchester and was recognized as a "Model Confucius Institute" in 2016. Over the past two decades, drawing on the high-quality educational resources of both universities and responding to the needs of North West England, the Institute has maintained Chinese language teaching as its core focus while continuously carrying out teacher training, Chinese proficiency test services, academic exchange, and cultural promotion. It has actively integrated into the local community and gradually built a Chinese language education and cultural exchange network covering local schools and communities. Volunteer teachers who are graduate students in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (TCSOL) at Beijing Normal University have actively participated in Chinese language teaching, course support, and cultural activities, providing important support for the Institute's daily teaching and China-UK cultural exchange while gaining practical experience in international Chinese language education. Through sustained cooperation, the two universities have jointly advanced the development of Chinese language education and continued to deepen and substantiate China-UK educational cooperation and people-to-people and cultural exchange.

In the future, Beijing Normal University and the University of Manchester will continue to leverage their respective strengths to support the Confucius Institute at the University of Manchester in rooting itself locally and pursuing sustainable development, so as to make new contributions to promoting international Chinese language education and China-UK educational cooperation and people-to-people and cultural exchange.