Confucius Institute and Promotion of Cameroon-China Educational and Cultural Exchanges

Paper Abstract: Cooperation between Cameroon and China dates to 1970. It covers political, economic and educational spheres. China's educational aid includes language training programmes through the various centres of the Confucius Institutes, scholarships to study in China, the construction of schools and some stand-alone educational projects. It aims to promote the teaching of Chinese language and the popularisation of Chinese culture around the world. The Cameroon Confucius Institute was established in 2007 and replaced the former Chinese Language Training Centre, in operation since 1996. The Confucius Institute in Cameroon makes an important contribution to educational and cultural exchanges between the two countries. As the educational cooperation between the two countries, especially in the case of the Confucius Institute, China is the donor and Cameroon is the recipient, the question is how to improve educational and cultural exchanges to ensure effective human resource cooperation. The Confucius Institute is a window through which some Cameroonians can understand China and Chinese culture, but what role does this institution play in understanding Cameroonian culture? This study aims to analyse the role of the Confucius Institute in promoting educational and cultural exchanges between Chinese teachers and Cameroonian students of Chinese. To this end, we have reviewed the relevant literature on educational and cultural cooperation between Cameroon and China, and conducted in-depth interviews with some Chinese and Cameroonian teachers and learners. This research highlighted the one-way nature of the exchange, as the Cameroonian side has very few opportunities to promote its linguistic and cultural values within this platform.