It has been a virtue for the Chinese nation for generations to love and safeguard peace, maintain good neighborliness, coexist peacefully with people of all over the world, said the ambassador.

China and Zimbabwe are endowed with a long history of friendship and relations of mutual benefit and the two countries are always sympathized with and accord valuable support to each other, Zhang said.

He said the past years had witnessed comprehensive and profound development of the bilateral relations and increased exchange and cooperation on culture and education between the two countries.

Stan Mudenge, Zimbabwean minister of higher and tertiary education, said at the ceremony that language is an important tool that helps promote mutual understanding and friendship among people. To that end the Zimbabwean government encourages its people to learn foreign languages and culture.

"The establishment of the institute is but the beginning in a series of educational programs that we intend to initiate with China," the minister said.

With the Confucius Institute in place, the people of Zimbabwe will learn more about the Chinese cultural diversity and how unity is achievable in this sea of different cultures and subcultures that make up the great Chinese nation, Mudenge said.

Mudenge said Zimbabwe also envisages the launching of short-term courses in Chinese language at the Management Training Bureau and more programs, for example, the establishment of a department of pharmacology at the Harare Institute of Technology, will facilitate and enhance the transfer of technology for sustainable development in Zimbabwe.

He also expressed thanks to the Chinese ambassador for the 100,000 U.S. dollar donation to the institute by the Chinese government.

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