More than 1,000 students and teachers from 31 Confucius Institutes in 16 Central and Eastern European countries gathered in Beijing Language and Culture University on Monday for the opening ceremony of the 2019 CEEC Confucius Institute Summer Camp.

It is the fourth year the summer camp has been held.

The event was sponsored by the Confucius Institute Headquarters and organized by Beijing Language and Culture University.

Zhao Guocheng, deputy chief executive of the Confucius Institute Headquarters, said more than 3,500 students and teachers from CEEC Confucius Institutes have visited China to discover the Chinese language and culture through these summer camps over the past four years.

China and partnered countries have jointly established 34 Confucius Institutes and 44 Confucius Classrooms with 52,000 students, he said.

Liu Li, president of Beijing Language and Culture University, said people-to-people exchanges and education cooperation are important parts of friendly cooperation between China and CEEC.

The university will continue to facilitate high-level education cooperation between China and CEEC, including developing Chinese language teaching materials and standards that are tailored for each country's needs, he said.