China and Malaysia signed an agreement on Wednesday to establish the first Confucius Institute in Malaysia.

Ghauth Jasmon, vice president of University of Malaya (UM), and Ma Jianfei, deputy director-general of the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban), signed the agreement on setting up the institute at the university.

Hao Ping, Chinese Vice Minister of Education, and Hou Kok Chung, Malaysia's Deputy Minister of Higher Education, also attended the signing ceremony.

As the exchanges between China and Malaysia has been increasingly intensified, more and more Malaysians are interested in learning the Chinese language and many Chinese students are also interested in learning the Malay language, Hao said.

The establishment of the Confucius Institute will have a positive influence on the Chinese-language learning in Malaysia and further enhance the understanding and friendship between the peoples of the two countries, he said.

Hao also said the renowned University of Malaya has vast contacts with various universities in China and it has contributed significantly to the friendly exchanges between Malaysia and China.

Hou said the university has close academic and research cooperation with some outstanding universities in China, including the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU).

Hou said in a speech that the Confucius Institute is a non-profit public institute which promotes the Chinese language to everyone, who are interested in it, in an organized and proper manner.

"I am confident that the Confucius Institute will become a benchmark for the teaching of Chinese language in Malaysia," he said.

The establishment of the institute will provide a new platform for Malaysians with different ethic backgrounds to learn Chinese, Hou noted.

Jasmon also noted that the collaboration was another milestone in Malaysia-China's strong relationship.

China's Ambassador to Malaysia Liu Jian was present at the signing ceremony.

According to the agreement, UM and BFSU will jointly manage the Confucius Institute that will be set up at the City Campus of UM.

(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2009)