The global finals of the 23rd Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students are set to be aired on a dozen TV channels and new media platforms from Friday to next Tuesday.
From Dec 27 to 31, the knockout stage and finals of the 23rd Chinese Bridge competition will be broadcast on China Education Television, Southeast TV, Ningxia TV, Fujian Straits TV, Fujian TV Comprehensive Channel, LeTV, Youku and Fujian IPTV.
An internationally influential Chinese language competition, the Chinese Bridge has attracted the participation of over 1.7 million young people from more than 160 countries since its inception in 2002.
This year's competition drew 147 contestants from 130 countries and regions, who went through contests in Beijing and in east China's Fujian Province, embarking on what the organizers described as a rewarding "Journey of Good Fortune."
The entire process has been recorded and produced into a 10-episode special program entitled Chinese Bridge: Fortune Comes, along with additional thrilling shows, including the Top 30 to Top 5 knockout stage and the global finals.
23rd Chinese Bridge global finals set to be aired
Serbian officials and scholars expect that President Aleksandar Vucic's visit to China will further cement the ironclad friendship between the two countries and open up new avenues for cooperation.
At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Serbian President Vucic arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a state visit to China from May 24 to 28. During the visit, the two heads of state will exchange views on bilateral relations, as well as international and regional issues of mutual interest.
As the first European country that has agreed to jointly build a community with a shared future for the new era with China, Serbia is an important partner for China in Southeast Europe. According to high-level Serbian officials, the partnership could expand even further.
"I think that the most important one, apart [from] the infrastructure, will be scientific cooperation and widening the existing cooperation in each field, from infrastructure to culture. Our anchored friendship could become a role model for everyone else," said Marina Ragus, deputy speaker of Serbia's National Assembly.
Bojan Lalic, director of the Belt and Road Institute in Belgrade, anticipates that actions following the two presidents' discussions can bring stability to Serbia's economic and industrial development.
"We expect President Vucic and President Xi to have fruitful discussions, but also some following steps that will bring stability to our economy, to our industry. I truly believe that when speaking about the future, we are speaking about young people, (which) means education, research, science -- those are fields that I believe are fundamental for our exchange, for our future cooperation, and for our win-win achievements and success," said Lalic.
Ljubodrag Savic, a professor at the Faculty of Economy of the University of Belgrade, highlighted the importance of growing trade between the two countries. Since the signing of a bilateral free trade agreement in 2023, exports from Serbia to China nearly doubled, from 1.2 billion U.S dollars the year the agreement was signed to 2 billion U.S. dollars in 2025.
"China treats all countries equally, regardless of their size or so-called importance, maintaining friendly relations with countries around the world. The free trade agreement signed between Serbia and China grants Serbia preferential treatment. Most Serbian products can be exported to China almost duty-free. China is a truly valuable friend to Serbia," said the professor.
Serbian experts predict fruitful outcomes from Vucic's visit to China
