Briefing: Confucius Institutes in the UK

New China Research Group research shows that British schools and universities are reliant on a network of 30 Confucius Institutes - the highest number of any country - to coordinate teaching of Mandarin, funding and expertise. 

  • New Confucius Institutes are still opening in the UK. The Open University opened the “world’s first Online Confucius Institute” just last month (May 2022).

  • Almost all UK government spending on Mandarin language teaching at schools - with at least £27m allocated from 2015 to 2024 - is channelled through university-based Confucius Institutes.

  • The number of Confucius Institutes in the UK and their tight integration across the education system is unusual amongst our peers. 

  • Governments in countries including the US, Netherlands and Germany have discouraged their universities from renewing partnerships with Confucius Institutes, or introduced mandatory financial disclosures.

  • Given that Confucius Institutes are so closely tied to China’s Ministry of Education, the UK’s approach is outdated.

Read the full briefing, including a list of UK Confucius Institutes.

 
UK-China strategyChina Research GroupAnalysis