At 4:00 PM Beijing Time on November 26th, the 2025 Online Annual Board Meeting of the Confucius Institute at the University of Freiburg — a joint initiative between Nanjing University and the University of Freiburg, Germany — was held. Academician Tan Tieniu, Secretary of the Party Committee of Nanjing University and Chinese Co-Chair of the Confucius Institute’s Board, Professor Gundlach (German Co-Chair of the Board, University of Freiburg), and other board members including Mr. von Zirbach, First Deputy Mayor of Freiburg, attended the meeting.

Academician Tan Tieniu first extended sincere gratitude to the University of Freiburg and the Freiburg Municipal Government. He affirmed the Confucius Institute’s achievements over the past year in language teaching, cultural promotion, and integration with comprehensive cooperation between the two sides, praising it as "one of the most smoothly operated, harmoniously managed, and closely collaborated Confucius Institutes in Germany." He emphasized that the Confucius Institute should strive to maintain its sound development momentum in the future, deepen innovations in teaching and cultural activities, expand the dimensions of exchanges, build a cooperative network, and become a model of cooperation between the two universities, the two cities, and even the two countries.

Members of the German side of the Board fully concurred with and thanked Secretary Tan Tieniu for his remarks, expressing high recognition for the work of the Confucius Institute at the University of Freiburg.

The meeting reviewed and approved the Confucius Institute’s 2025 Annual Work Summary, 2026 Annual Work Plan, as well as its financial budget and final accounts reports, and discussed issues related to its operation and development.

Jointly established by Nanjing University and the University of Freiburg upon signing an agreement in 2009, the Confucius Institute at the University of Freiburg has in recent years integrated into the campus and local communities to carry out international Chinese language education. It has achieved remarkable results in language teaching, cultural promotion, academic research, and China-Germany people-to-people exchanges.

Relevant responsible persons from Nanjing University’s Confucius Institute Office and School of International Education, together with the Chinese and foreign directors and staff of the Confucius Institute at the University of Freiburg, participated in the board meeting.