On September 10, 2014, the Chinese Embassy in South Africa held a send-off ceremony for the SA students who were awarded Chinese Government Scholarship for 2014/2015 Academic Year. Among the attendants were Counsellor Wang Qiang, Acting Chief of the Mission, Mr. M. C Manana, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training and 26 scholarship recipients who were scheduled to leave for China soon.

On Ambassador Tian Xuejun's behalf, Counsellor Wang welcomed the students and briefed them about the current relations between China and South Africa. He expressed his hope that the students will study hard in China for the development of South Africa and the all-round cooperation between the two countries. He expected the students to make good use of the weekends and vacations to visit more places in China and to make Chinese friends, so as to understand the country and help the country be known by more South Africans. He also encouraged them to act as the envoys of China-South Africa friendship for a better future of the bilateral relationship.

Deputy Minister Manana expressed his appreciation for China's generous scholarship offers, which he said reflected the strength of the relation and manifested the friendship and wide-range cooperation between the two countries. He mentioned President Xi Jinping's state visit to South Africa last year as very significant, during which both leaders designated 2014 as a "Year of South Africa in China" and 2015 as a "Year of China in South Africa". He applauded the various activities and events been planned by senior officials of the two countries, all of which were aimed at raising the profile of the relationship which is defined as Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The Deputy Minister urged the scholarship recipients to cherish the privilege, study hard, and contribute to the amity between the two peoples.

Mr. Song Bo, head of the Education Division, shared on-ground information with the students to help them be better prepared for the life in China.

The Chinese government provides about 50 scholarships to South African government annually. In 2014, 26 students were selected by the Department of Higher Education and Training of South Africa for this project. They will take Chinese language courses for one year and then go to respective Chinese universities to further their study. Besides, some Chinese universities had enrolled another 11 South African students under the Chinese Government Scholarship project.

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