Photo : Chinese Embassy in Dhaka

DHAKA, May 30, 2025 (BSS) – The 24th 'Chinese Bridge' competition was held today at the auditorium of North South University in the capital aiming to strengthen relationship between China and Bangladesh.

Chinese Embassy in Dhaka organized this year's competition and Confucius Institute of North South University held the competition.

Confucius Institute of Dhaka University and Shanto Mariam-Honghya Confucius Classroom served as the co-organizing partners. 

Cultural Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy Li Shaofeng joined the event as the chief guest. 

In addition, North South University Vice-Chancellor Professor Abdul Hannan Chowdhury, Shanto Mariam University of Creative Technology Registrar Dr. Par Modiur Rahman, Dhaka Bureau Chief of China Media Group and Xinhua News, Bangladeshi and Chinese teachers from Dhaka University, North South University and Shanto Mariam University of Creative Technology were also present.

Speaking as the chief guest, Li Shaofeng urged Bangladeshi students to learn Chinese language.

"I have been in Bangladesh for more than a year. During this time, I have seen many cultural programmes, many student performances. Today, I saw the students' extraordinary performances in Chinese. I am impressed with their Chinese language skills. Young people are opening the door to knowing more about China," he added.

Confucius Institute director at North South University Dr. Bulbul Siddiqui delivered the welcoming speech at the event. 

In the competition, one person won the title, two runners-up and three bagged the third prizes. Four others were given the Excellence Award. 

The champion of the Bangladesh part will later go to China for the international trophy and will have the opportunity to participate in the International Chinese Language Teacher Scholarship Project.

The 'Chinese Bridge' Chinese Language Proficiency Competition for Foreign University Students is a large-scale international Chinese language competition. It is organized by the Chinese and Foreign Language Exchange Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Education of China. 

The competition consists of two parts; preliminary competitions in different countries, and the final in China.

The first competition was held in 2002 and has successfully completed 23rd pard so far. 

In this 23-year long journey through the bridge programme, China has established a strong connection between more than 160 countries and regions around the world.