U.S. Department of Defense labels Confucius Institutes a national security threat

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last Friday (October 23) that the U.S. Department of Defense has classified Chinese-funded "Confucius Institutes" located on U.S. university campuses as a national security threat and has "systematically banned all these organizations" in the past two months.

Hegseth said in a video speech published by Hegseth said the Department of Defense has "systematically dismantled every one of these organizations over the past two months."

Washington has long accused Confucius Institutes of being Chinese propaganda tools and has taken steps to crack down on them. In 2018, the U.S. Congress passed legislation restricting the then Department of Defense from providing some funding to universities with Confucius Institutes. In 2020, the United States recognized the Confucius Institute American Center as a "foreign mission." This means that these institutions are regarded by Washington as actually owned or effectively controlled by the Chinese government and must undergo strict administrative management and transparency review.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told an AFP reporter at a regular press conference on October 26, "We oppose smearing and stigmatizing Confucius Institutes. Sino-US educational exchanges and cooperation are conducive to enhancing mutual understanding between the two peoples. They are two-way, mutually beneficial and win-win, and should not be interfered with or undermined."

In 2004, the first batch of Confucius Institutes in the world were established in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Seoul, the capital of South Korea. So far, there are about 510 Confucius Institutes in more than 160 countries and regions around the world.

After 2020, the Confucius Institute will be managed by the China International Chinese Education Foundation with an official background. It was previously the responsibility of the National Leading Group Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language under the Ministry of Education of China. The school-running model adopts Sino-foreign cooperation, and is jointly hosted by Chinese partner institutions and foreign universities or educational institutions.

There are currently 19 Confucius Institutes in Germany and they continue to cooperate with local universities to carry out activities, such as teaching Chinese and holding lectures. Many Confucius Institutes, including Trier, Dusseldorf and Hamburg, have closed or downsized around 2020.