February 27, 2020

UA Confucius Institute closing

Political tensions with China impacted the operation of the cultural center.

Confucius react The UA Confucius Institute hosted musical performances and health and wellness programs on campus.
Tony Perkins/AZPM

A University of Arizona cultural connection to China is closing later this year.

The Confucius Institute at UA will shut down July 31. A UA statement cited changes in federal law as the reason for the closure.

In 2018, an amendment to a U.S. military spending bill said a university with a Confucius Institute cannot receive funding from Defense Department programs that pay for Chinese language training. In the time since that bill was passed, more than a dozen universities have closed their institutes, including Arizona State University.

Some politicians allege Confucius Institutes expose American colleges and universities to espionage and the threat of theft of intellectual property. No Institute has ever been charged with wrongdoing.

The UA Confucius Institute was dedicated in 2008. It hosted campus events including the annual Chinese New Year performance, health and wellness programs, and summer camps.

UA officials would not comment further on the Institute's closing.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona