The eighth Confucius Institute was inaugurated Monday in the University of Trier in the hometown of Karl Marx in western Germany.

Jiang Feng, minister-counselor of the Education Office of the Chinese Embassay to Germany, and Peter Schwenkmezger, the dean of the University of Trier, signed an agreement on the openning of the institute.

Briefing Chinese Ambassador to Germany Ma Canrong on Chinese teaching in German universities, Schwenkmezger said Chinese studies have attracted more and more German students.

Director of the Chinese Studies Department of the University of Trier, Liang Yong, said there were only more than 10 freshmen for a winter semester five to six years ago and now the number has risen to 80-90.

The department currently has some 300 students, Liang added.

The Confucius Institute will help impart Chinese culture to the German public and in return, the Chinese teachers who will come to work in the University of Trier can learn more about the German culture.

Schwenkmezger also said the geographical position of his university, near the border with Luxembourg, can facilitate the spread of Chinese language to the neighbouring country.

The Confucius Institute is a Beijing-based non-profit public institute aimed at promoting Chinese language and culture and supporting Chinese teaching internationally. It opened the first institute in Germany at the Free University of Berlin in 2006, and will open another two in the country this year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 8, 2008)