Students dance during warm-up performances before the national finals of the 25th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition in Nairobi, Kenya, April 30, 2026. Kenya on Thursday hosted the national finals of the 25th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition, featuring 20 university students who competed in both speech and talent categories. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)
NAIROBI, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Thursday hosted the national finals of the 25th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition, featuring 20 university students who competed in both speech and talent categories.
The event, held at the auditorium of the University of Nairobi, was attended by senior government officials, diplomats, industry executives, faculty members, and students. The Chinese Embassy in Kenya hosted the event in partnership with Confucius Institutes based in Kenya's leading public universities.
Beatrice Muganda Inyangala, principal secretary in the State Department for Higher Education and Research, said in a speech read on her behalf by Carol Hunja, secretary for higher education and research in the Ministry of Education, that the annual Chinese language proficiency contest for Kenyan college students has evolved into a platform for cementing friendship and cross-cultural understanding.
She said that through the competition, Kenya will be able to nurture the next generation of talented Mandarin speakers who will later act as ambassadors for people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and Kenya.
Guo Haiyan, Chinese ambassador to Kenya, said that since its inception in 2002, the Chinese Bridge competition has attracted over 1.8 million young participants from more than 160 countries and regions.
"Interdisciplinary talents who are proficient in Chinese and familiar with the national conditions of both China and Kenya are increasingly sought after as exchanges and cooperation between China and Kenya flourish across various fields, and as more and more Chinese enterprises and key cooperation projects take root in Kenya," Guo said.
Margaret Jesang Hutchinson, acting vice chancellor at the University of Nairobi, said the Chinese Bridge competition is the "Olympics" of the Chinese language, serving as a vital platform for linguistic, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges.
In Kenya, the competition continues to grow in both scale and impact. This year, nearly 200 students from over 20 institutions registered, and after rigorous evaluation in the preliminary rounds and semifinals, the top 20 contestants were selected to participate in the national finals, Hutchinson said. ■
Wang Shangxue, Chinese director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi, addresses the national finals of the 25th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition in Nairobi, Kenya, April 30, 2026. Kenya on Thursday hosted the national finals of the 25th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition, featuring 20 university students who competed in both speech and talent categories. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)
Students sing during warm-up performances before the national finals of the 25th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition in Nairobi, Kenya, April 30, 2026. Kenya on Thursday hosted the national finals of the 25th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition, featuring 20 university students who competed in both speech and talent categories. (Xinhua/Liu Qiong)
Students dance during warm-up performances before the national finals of the 25th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition in Nairobi, Kenya, April 30, 2026. Kenya on Thursday hosted the national finals of the 25th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition, featuring 20 university students who competed in both speech and talent categories. (Xinhua/Liu Qiong)
A student competes in the national finals of the 25th Chinese Bridge-Chinese proficiency competition in Nairobi, Kenya, April 30, 2026. Kenya on Thursday hosted the national finals of the 25th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition, featuring 20 university students who competed in both speech and talent categories. (Xinhua/Liu Qiong)
A student (R) competes in the national finals of the 25th Chinese Bridge-Chinese proficiency competition in Nairobi, Kenya, April 30, 2026. Kenya on Thursday hosted the national finals of the 25th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition, featuring 20 university students who competed in both speech and talent categories. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)