UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor Prof Balfour Leads University Delegation Visited China

Professor Robert Balfour, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape (UWC), led the university delegation to attend the  2025 World Chinese Language Conference that took place at the China National Convention Center in Beijing. The Conference was organized by the Ministry of Education, and was held under the theme “Innovation Leads, AI Empowers: Learning Chinese Without Borders”. The conference brought together nearly 5,000 participants from over 160 countries and regions, including senior officials from education ministries, university leaders, diplomats, and representatives of international organizations.

During the conference, the latest digital achievements in international Chinese language education were showcased, including: International Chinese Education Knowledge Graph; International Chinese Language Corpus; Adaptive Assessment Platform "HSK GO" and release HSK3.0 version; AI-Powered Teaching and Research Cloud Platform; and Smart Chinese Classroom. 

Following the conference, the UWC delegation visited Beijing Foreign Studies University, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Zhejiang Normal University, and the Jinhua Municipal Government. Professor Balfour delivered two academic lectures titled “Language Ecology and Social Justice: Insights from Research on Multilingualism in South Africa and China” at BFSU and Zhejiang Normal University, attracting master’s and doctoral students for discussion and exchange.

On December 20, the Fifth Board Meeting of the Confucius Institute for Chinese Medicine at UWC was successfully held at Zhejiang Normal University. Representatives from the three partner institutions reviewed the achievements of 2025 and discussed strategic plans for 2026.

Looking ahead, the University of the Western Cape will continue to deepen its engagement in international Chinese language education and expand channels for academic and cultural collaboration. With innovation as its driving force and traditional Chinese medicine as its guiding dimension, UWC is committed to contributing to global Chinese language education and advancing cultural exchange between China and South Africa.