On 6 June 2023, the Zambian Finals of the 22nd “Chinese Bridge”-Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students and the 16th “Chinese Bridge”-Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign Secondary School Students were co-hosted by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (ELEC) and the Chinese Embassy in Zambia, and undertaken by the Confucius Institute of the University of Zambia (CI-UNZA). Mr. Wang Sheng, Minister Counsellor of the Embassy and Dr. Patricia Mukwato, Acting Vice-Chancellor of UNZA, attended the Finals and delivered speeches. More than 100 guests, including teachers and students from CI-UNZA, and other Chinese teaching institutions, attended the event.

Minister Counsellor Wang said that Chinese is one of the languages with the longest history, the most elegant structure and the richest connotations in the world, increasingly playing a role in promoting cultural exchanges and mutual learning across the globe. As a “bridge of culture, bridge of friendship, and bridge of soul” connecting the world, the “Chinese Bridge” had set up a bridge to realize personal development, promote educational cooperation, and deepen traditional friendship. It was hoped that all the contestants would take the “Chinese Bridge” as a new starting point for learning Chinese, continue to make new progress, actively devote themselves to the China-Zambia friendship, and contribute to building the China-Zambia and China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.

The competition was full of excitement and won bursts of applause. By giving speeches, Q&A and talent performances on the themes of “One World, One Family” and “Fly High with Chinese”, 11 college students and 9 secondary school students told their stories of learning Chinese, expressed their love for Chinese culture and understanding of China-Zambia friendship. After fierce competition, Fred Chibesakunda from Mulungushi University and Deborah Kapepa from Kalonga Secondary School won the first prizes in the competition for college students and secondary school students respectively and would represent Zambia in the Global Finals of the “Chinese Bridge”.