Chinanews, Urumqi, January 31 - Confucius Institutes are non-profit educational institutions with the aim of teaching Chinese language and introducing Chinese culture. Most of their subbranches outside of China have been jointly started by Chinese and local educational institutionss. The first Confucius Institute was founded in Seoul, South Korea in November 2004. At present, there are 123 Confucius Institutes in 49 countries and regions in the world.
Currently, Xinjiang regional government is negotiating with the education officials of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, on establishing Confucius Institutions in central and western Asian Countries.