"I love China and I will be happy to go back there," said Pawel Wowra, a student of the University of Silesia in Katowice, southwestern Poland, on Friday.
Wowra was one of the first to benefit from the student exchange agreements between the universities of Poland and China. The establishment of the Chinese Language and Culture Center at the University of Silesia on Friday will help more students passionate about China enrich their knowledge.
The center aims to promote Chinese culture in the Silesian region and increase the knowledge about China among the Poles.
At the opening ceremony, Waldemar Bojarun, deputy mayor of Katowice, said that the government of Katowice was pleased to see more Poles getting to know Chinese language and culture, and it fully supports the establishment of the Chinese Language and Culture Center at the University of Silesia.
Cai Lian, cultural counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Poland, said that there was plenty of space for the development of the cooperation between the two countries in future, which would require more high-quality personnel.
She said that the establishment of the Chinese Language and Culture Center could play an important role in promoting Chinese culture, cultivating well-qualified students and contributing to more exchanges between the two countries.
Agnieszka Tambor, director of the center, said that the University of Silesia had friendly relationships with a lot of colleges and universities in China.
Tambor added that apart from academic exchanges, the university also focused on promoting Chinese culture among local people, for example, by showing Chinese movies and organizing exhibitions in Katowice. "It was this long-term and steady exchange that led to the founding of the Chinese Language and Culture Center," she added.
Currently, the center has a total of over 200 Polish students. Chinese teacher Xu Yujin said although the Chinese language was only an elective course, it attracted a large number of students. She plans to increase the number of history and culture courses as the Polish students are greatly interested in them.