China has no intention to export its values through its overseas Confucius Institutes, which goes against the country's traditional concept, a Chinese official has said.

Xu Lin (1st L), director of the Chinese Language Council International, attends the opening ceremony of the Confucius Institute at George Mason University on Thursday, April 16, 2009. [Photo: cnsphoto]

The major goal of the Confucius Institutes abroad is to strengthen mutual understanding between China and foreign countries through cultural exchanges, said Xu Lin, director of the Chinese Language Council International, a national body promoting the Chinese language internationally and guiding the establishment of Confucius Institutes.

Xu told U.S.-based China Press in an interview on Thursday that foreign media reports that have said the Confucius Institutes are playing a key role in China's cultural infiltration are groundless. She made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the Confucius Institute at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, which is the 53rd such center in the United States.

Xu iterated that China had not and would not force foreigners to accept its values, adding that Confucianism emphasizes peace and harmony and adherence to tolerance of different cultures. She also said what China wants foreigners to know about is not a perfect China, but a real one.

China has established 256 Confucius Institutes and four Confucius Classrooms worldwide in recent years in collaboration with local universities. They are a main platform for China's cultural exchanges.

(CRI English April 19, 2009)