Luke van Niekerk shares with China.org.cn his experiences of studying Chinese with the Confucius Institute at Stellenbosch. [Maverick Chen / China.org.cn]

Luke van Niekerk, a sophomore at Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, enjoys the Chinese language courses he took over the past two semesters. He is able to conduct conversations in Chinese on many topics and his writing in Chinese is improving quickly.

"I like attending Chinese lectures, and I am sure my classmates think the same," he said. He thinks martial art is the most "interesting part" in the Chinese culture and he expects to "find a job with China Central Television upon graduation."

Acknowledging the positive aspects of Confucius Institute, Zhong said promoting it in Africa hasn't always been easy.

"Stellenbosch University is indeed a successful example, but please note that currently our Confucius institutes in South Africa are only in universities whose students are mainly white; we have find it very difficult in promoting it in universities mostly with black students," Zhong said.

The reason, as he explains, is that South Africa once was ruled by the white government, during which the local black people were in a subordinate position, so was their culture.

"South Africa has already been overwhelmed by a foreign culture once, and their psychological shadow wouldn't want another foreign culture to invade their society," he said, adding "though we never want to (have that kind of impact)."

Zhong said bilateral cultural exchange should focus on mutual interest and be complementary. "Forced promotions are just like colonialism," he said.