The University of Nairobi on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on Publication with Hubei Changjiang Publishing and Media Group.

The signing marks the official launch of the publishing project of the book titled “The East African Practical Chinese Textbook (elementary)” in Kenya.

Huang Guobin, Chairman of Hubei Changjiang Publishing and Media Group, Stephen Kiama Gitahi, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nairobi, members of editor board of “The East African Practical Chinese Textbook(elementary)”, Song Jianing, the managing Director of CMG Africa and other representatives of media outlets attended the ceremony.

“The East African Practical Chinese Textbook (elementary)” is a series of indigenous Chinese language textbooks for learners whose mother tongue is not Chinese. The series is suitable for classroom teaching of undergraduate students in East African universities as well as catering for the needs of self-learners.

Co-published by the University of Nairobi and Hubei Changjiang Publishing and Media Group, the book series will be fully localized to meet the demands of language learners in East Africa.

The books are expected to integrate local life scenes and cultural contents of East African people with those of Chinese people. The texts and topics are chosen in such a way that students will feel familiar and be able to better understand the daily life and cultural habits of Chinese people.

According to Changjiang Publishing and Media Group chairman, Huang Guobin, the signing is one of the latest achievements attained by academic and publishing communities of China and Kenya.

He added he expected the publication of Chinese textbooks to help Kenyans experience the charm of Chinese traditional culture and deepen mutual exchanges of two side.

University of Nairobi Vice-Chancellor Stephen Kiama Gitahi hailed the cooperation as a good move to strengthen cultural ties.

Gitahi said the university provides a decent platform for promoting exchanges between the two countries, providing opportunities and venues for Kenyan students to learn Chinese language as well as China’s development experience.

According to Liang Yu, a lecturer at the Confucius Institute of University of Nairobi, the newly-published textbook greatly meets the demands of African language learners who want to Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) and does great favor to train Kenya talents who can speak Chinese fluently.