On the morning of December 12 local time in Malaysia, the opening ceremony of Confucius Institute jointly established by Changsha University of Science and Technology(CSUST)，University of Malaysia Sabah（UMS) and the CCCC Dredging （Group）CO.,LTD was held in the auditorium of UMS. Liang Caide, Consul General of China in Kota Kinabalu;Mohamad Mohamalin, Assistant Minister of Education and Innovation in Sabah; Fu Hongyuan, Secretary of the Party Committee of CSUST; Datuk Tawfik Ye Yongxing, President of UMS; Zhu Zhaohui, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of CCCC Dredging （Group）CO.,LTD; Datuk Huang Xiaojuan, an outstanding representative of the local Chinese society, and others attended the ceremony. More than 300 people attended the ceremony, including teachers and students of UMS, representatives of the Confucius Institute of UMS, Chinese representatives in Malaysia and the media.

  At 10: 15, the unveiling ceremony began with the national anthems of Malaysia and China.

  Tawfik Ye Yongxing said in his speech that the Confucius Institute of UMS has finally been approved after the application 4 years ago, which is an important achievement of international exchanges and cooperation between the two universities over the years. UMS will do its best to support the construction of Confucius Institute of UMS and make positive contributions to the promotion of the  Chinese language in the local area and exchanges between China and Malaysia.

  Fu Hongyuan said in his speech that CSUST is a university with rich experience in hosting Confucius Institutes and has unique advantages in the field of engineering. The University is willing to make joint efforts with UMS and CCCC Dredging（Group）CO.,LTD to build the Confucius Institute of UMS into a Confucius Institute of engineering technology with unique features.

  Liang Caide congratulated East Malaysia on the formal completion of its first Confucius Institute. He pointed out that Confucius's ideas of "all men of the world are brothers " and "harmony in diversity " had a profound impact on China's historical development and national character. More than 500 Confucius Institutes around the world are adhering to the concepts of Confucius’s, aiming to enhance people's understanding of Chinese language and culture in all countries and regions of the world and promote the exchange between the Chinese culture and cultures of all countries in the world.

  Mohamad Mohamalin said that on the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia, there are many bright spots in the cooperation between the two countries in the field of humanities. Confucius Institute is an effective way for the people of all countries to understand Chinese culture, and it is believed that the two countries will make better development in the fields of Chinese education, talent cultivation, scientific research, etc.

  Ma Jianfei, deputy director general of the Confucius Institute headquarters, sent a congratulatory letter, expressing the hope that the two universities will continue to cooperate sincerely and make concerted efforts to build the Confucius Institute of UMS into an important platform for students and the community to learn Chinese and understand China, and to make greater contributions to the promotion of cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Malaysia and the enhancement of understanding and friendship between the two peoples.

  Later, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held and the Confucius Institute of UMS was officially announced. The drum performance of 24 solar terms and lion dance performance brought by Chongzheng Middle School, a famous local Chinese school, gave the scene a warm atmosphere, added a beautiful scenery to the ceremony, and was also a sincere invitation issued by the Confucius Institute of UMS to attract local people to approach Chinese culture.

  As the fourth Confucius Institute in Malaysia and the first in East Malaysia, the Confucius Institute of UMS will join hands with the two universities and the CCCC Dredging（Group）CO.,LTD to explore and build a Confucius Institute with engineering and technical characteristics after its establishment. This will further stimulate local people's enthusiasm for learning Chinese and bring more talent training and employment opportunities to Sabah and even East Malaysia.

  On the afternoon of that day, the first meeting of the first board of directors of the Confucius Institute of UMS was held in the conference room of the president's office building of UMS. The meeting elected and approved the list of members of the first board of directors of the Confucius Institute of UMS.