Xu Lin, Director General of Confucius Institute Headquarters

Chinese Confucius Institutes in Africa are attaching greater importance to help locals improve their livelihood by teaching them practical skills regarding tourism promotion and small business operation, said Xu Lin, Director General of Confucius Institute Headquarters, on March 7 in Beijing, during the annual sessions of China's National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

"African students attending the Confucius Institutes are not only interested in Chinese language and culture, but also hope to have a better life by gaining Chinese experience through language learning," Xu, also a member of CPPCC, told ChinAfrica.

In response, the institute, committed to teaching and promotion of Chinese language and culture, is training teachers and volunteers the main skills Africans need the most aside from language teaching, before sending them to Africa, she added.

Since the University of Nairobi in Kenya set up the first Confucius Institute in Africa in 2005, there had been 31 Confucius Institutes and five Confucius Classes in 26 African countries by September 2012, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Despite rapid expansion in the remote continent, the Confucius Institutes in Africa are facing challenges to provide more locals with services. "The lack of funds and qualified personnel is becoming a bottleneck for their further development," Xu noted.

She said that many African countries had poor teaching facilities and buildings, and that life was also relatively hard for Chinese teachers and volunteers in Africa.

According to Xu, to solve the problems, China has been offering full funding for the establishment and operation of Confucius Institutes in underdeveloped African countries. While in countries elsewhere, the hosting country is required to equally foot the bill.