On June 17, the municipal government of Bari held a press conference announcing that the Confucius Institute in Bari—jointly established by South China University of Technology (SCUT) and the Polytechnic University of Bari (POLIBA)—is scheduled to be inaugurated in October this year. As part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the sister-city relationship between Guangzhou and Bari, the press conference drew wide public attention and was featured in a full-page report by the Italian mainstream newspaper La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, which covered the project’s planning in detail.

The press conference brought together key representatives from China and Italy, including Vito Leccese, Mayor of Bari; Umberto Fratino, Rector of Polytechnic University of Bari; Li Xiaoyong, Minister-Counsellor of Chinese Embassy in Italy; as well as representatives from Chinese and Italian universities. Hu Guiping, appointed by SCUT as the inaugural Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute in Bari, was also in attendance. During the conference, Mr. Umberto Fratino highly commended SCUT’s pivotal role in the preparation of the Institute, noting that the Confucius Institute would further advance the internationalization of both universities and serve as a platform for educational and sci-tech innovation exchange between China and Italy, thereby creating broader opportunities for collaboration among faculty and students from both sides.

Li Xiaoyong emphasized that cooperation in the humanities and education is a vital component of China-Italy bilateral relations. Building on the education strengths of both universities, the Confucius Institute in Bari will serve not only as a platform for disseminating the Chinese language and culture but also as a catalyst for youth exchanges, sci-tech innovation, and mutual learning between the two civilizations. Additionally, it is expected to become a flagship center for international Chinese language education in Southern Italy.

It is reported that the Confucius Institute in Bari will be the third overseas Confucius Institute co-established by SCUT, following earlier branches in Lancaster, UK, and Ingolstadt, Germany.