20 May 2026

On May 14-15, 2026 Minsk successfully hosted the republican qualifying stage of the World Chinese Language Bridge competition, which was organized by the Chinese Embassy in Belarus and held jointly by several Confucius Institutes. 198 schoolchildren and students from all over the country took part in this competition.

The award ceremony (May,15) was attended by Zhang Wenchuan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Belarus and Vladimir Dolzhenkov, Deputy Minister of Education of the Republic of Belarus.

In his speech Zhang Wenchuan noted that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Bridge of the Chinese Language contest. For a quarter of century this event has attracted more than 1.8 million young people from 160 countries. Participating in it is a dream for many Chinese language learners around the world. It has long ceased to be just a competition - it is a bridge connecting hearts and civilizations. Learning Chinese not only allows you to understand China's 5,000-year-old civilization, but also opens up opportunities to participate in China's innovative development. Every Belarusian who studies Chinese is a national ambassador who strengthens the Belarusian-Chinese friendship and is a driving force behind the future development of these two countries.

Vladimir Dolzhenkov, Deputy Minister of Education, noted that cooperation between Belarus and China in the field of education focuses on youth students and staff training. Therefore, it is important to popularize, support and expand opportunities for learning Chinese, taking into account the implementation of joint Belarusian-Chinese projects and the increasing demand for specialists who speak the Chinese language.

The Confucius Institute of Mogilev State A. Kuleshov University was represented in this competition by Nelly Kachanova, a 12-year-old student. She successfully performed among 62 participants in the "junior schoolchildren" age category. Thanks to her solid knowledge of the Chinese language and a vivid demonstration of her talents Nelly was awarded the honorary award "For Outstanding Achievements" in her age category.

This success has been the best result achieved by the Confucius Institute since the opening of Chinese language courses in January 2025.

Wang Xiaomei, Director of the Confucius Institute from the Chinese side, led the training of the student, who conducted a series of consultations and individual trainings for the participant.

This victory clearly demonstrates real successes of the Confucius Institute of Mogilev State A. Kuleshov University in teaching the Chinese language and promoting Chinese culture. The well–deserved award is the result of Nelly's hard work, and it is important not only for the student and her family.

This is a good example for other students of the institute who are interested in learning the Chinese language and its culture. And the Confucius Institute of Mogilev State A. Kuleshov University will continue to use its advantages, deepening educational cooperation between China and Belarus, helping an increasing number of students to participate in different international events.