ACCRA - China handed over on Wednesday a newly constructed edifice housing the Model Confucius Institute at the University of Ghana.

Inaugurating the three-storey structure, Chinese Ambassador to Ghana Sun Baohong described the institute in Ghana as a small sapling planted which has grown to become a huge towering tree for cultural exchanges between Ghana and China.

"The Confucius Institute in the University of Ghana has become a leader in the teaching of Chinese language in Ghana; a practitioner of bilateral cooperation in the educational sector; a communicator of Chinese culture and a bridge to promoting mutual understanding between the two peoples," Sun stated.

Established in May 2013 and starting operations in April 2014, the Confucius Institute at the University of Ghana has by dint of hard work made remarkable achievements in the teaching of Chinese language and dissemination of the Chinese culture, winning the honorary title of "Global Model Confucius Institute" with total number of students exceeding 2,000.

"The world we live in is full of hope and challenges. No country can deal with the challenges facing mankind alone, and no country can return to an isolated island. The aim of Chinese diplomacy is to forge a community of with a shared future for mankind and build a new type of international relations with mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation at its core," the ambassador added.

The new structure worth nearly $1 million has within it the administrative area, lecture halls, language laboratories, library as well as an attic exhibiting various items of Chinese origin, including robes, musical instruments and weapons of war, among others.

Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ebenezer Oduro-Owusu indicated that the completion of the Model Confucius Institute building in Ghana was timely, with huge interest being generated in the learning of Chinese language and culture in the country.

"The completion of the Model Confucius Institute here on campus through the joint efforts of the Confucius Institute Headquarters Hanban and the University of Ghana is timely, because the state-of-the-art administrative building with facility will serve as a hub for the teaching and learning of not only the Chinese language and culture, but also of Chinese traditional medicine and Chinese Martial Arts," Oduro-Owusu said.