Hanban: Closing of Confucius Institute in Sweden not to trigger ripple effect

BEIJING - The scheduled closing of the Confucius Institute in Stockholm University in June will not cause a chain reaction, Hanban said on Tuesday.

"One or two universities announcing suspension or ending of programs is normal, as such cases are common among language promotion institutes of other nations," the Confucius Institute Headquarters said in a statement.

According to the rules of the Confucius Institutes, universities are free to open or end programs.

Therefore, the Chinese government-backed language and culture body agreed on the decision by the Stockholm University to close its Confucius institute at the end of June.

The institute in Sweden, established ten years ago, was a partnership between Stockholm University and China's Fudan University. The agreement between the two expired at the end of 2014.

The latest statistics from Hanban show that by the end of 2014, 476 Confucius Institutes and 851 Confucius Classrooms have opened across 127 countries and regions.

More than 200 universities in more than 70 countries are filing applications to establish Confucius Institutes, Hanban said.

Deriving its name from the renowned educator and philosopher Confucius ((551-479 BC)the first Confucius institute was set up in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, in 2004.

According to Hanban, Confucius institutes are governed by a council which consists of members from both foreign universities and their Chinese partners. Annual plans and budget of the institutes are decided by the council.