On June 10, 2022, Ambassador Zhang Jianwei attended the award ceremony of the Kuwait Round of the 5th Global Chinese Recitation Contest. More than a hundred audiences including representatives of the Chinese community in Kuwait, students and teachers from the Chinese school backed by the Chinese Federation in Kuwait and Kuwaiti friends were present at the event.

While addressing the ceremony, Ambassador Zhang said, language is a vital vehicle to promote cultural exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations. With the rapid development and rising influence of China, Chinese language has become appealing to a larger group of foreign friends due to its rich cultural heritage and implications. He pointed out that as multiple Arab countries have integrated Chinese language into their respective national education system, enthusiasm for Chinese language learning continues to surge in the region, adding that Chinese language education is also booming in Kuwait with many Kuwaiti friends keen on Chinese language and Chinese culture. He expressed the hope that overseas Chinese in Kuwait and Kuwaiti friends could keep learning Chinese language, tell China’s stories in lively ways and act as inheritors and messengers of Chinese culture and also envoys for closer exchanges and cooperation between China and the rest of the world.

Ambassador Zhang noted that as Chinese President Xi Jinping once remarked, “One can do well only when one’s country and nation do well”. The Chinese Embassy in Kuwait will support, as always, the Chinese community in Kuwait in holding more events like this and the Chinese school in growing bigger and stronger, thus making Chinese language education in Kuwait more productive. As the construction of the Chinese culture center, the first of this kind in the Gulf region, will be completed in Kuwait, he expected it to be a bridge for deeper people-to-people ties and a platform for closer cooperation. Let’s work unremittingly to promote development and prosperity of both countries and win wider support for bilateral friendship among the two peoples.

Zhang Yongda, Chairman of the Chinese Federation in Kuwait, and Shen Hui, principal of the federation-backed Chinese school said the recitation contest carries positive significance for promoting the learning and inheritance of Chinese culture among the Chinese people in Kuwait including Chinese youth in Kuwait, and pledged to hold more diverse activities in the future to seek bigger progress in local Chinese language education.

The Kuwait Round of the 5th Chinese Recitation Contest was hosted by the federation-backed Chinese school, with the participation of over 60 contestants. Kuwait’s mainstream media including Kuwait Television gave coverage to the award ceremony.