The Confucius Institute of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has presented the Chinese Ambassador's Award of Excellence to 22 students who excelled in the study of Chinese.

They received cash prizes ranging from 50 to 200 dollars after they had completed a proficiency course in the language for the 2015/2016 academic year.

The Chinese Ambassador Award was founded in 2012 to encourage Ghanaian students to learn Chinese and to promote Ghana-China friendship.

The Vice-Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, expressed gratitude to the Chinese Government for the continued support to Ghana and the university.

He said China had one of the most influential economic and cultural presence in the world and engaging students in a Confucius Institute would allow Ghana to discover new methodologies and approaches that could ultimately re-invigorate the purpose of the study of Ghanaian languages.

He called for a close and mutual beneficent collaboration between the Confucius Institute and the various language departments to make the learning of the Chinese Language and culture more meaningful.

He said the Confucius Institute offered many avenues of growth to students, staff and faculty through grants, study abroad programmes and scholarships.

The VC encouraged students of the university to take advantage of the institute to learn the Chinese Language to contribute to the development of the country.

The Chinese Ambassador, Mrs Sun Bao Hong, said Chinese culture was extensive and profound and dated many years back.

She said China and Ghana had enjoyed time-honoured relationships and had carried out extensive bilateral co-operations in various fields such as education, culture, health and economic development.

She said the China-Ghana co-operation on education had yielded positive results as this year alone the Chinese Government had issued more than 1,200 visas to Ghanaian students to study in China.

The Ambassador encouraged young Ghanaian students to study hard, sharpen their skills and shoulder responsibilities to be able to make meaningful contributions to the teaching and learning of the Chinese Language at the university.

She said learning of Chinese was imperative for the Ghanaian youth to ensure development and strengthen the China-Ghana friendship for generations to come.

Ambassador Sun was hopeful that the award scheme would go a long way to whip up interest in the study of the language and culture among Ghanaian students to bridge the communication gap between the two countries to foster more collaboration.

The Pro Vice Chancellor, Professor George Oduro, said already a Memorandum of Understanding between UCC and Hunan City had helped built a firm lasting relationship.

He said the establishment of the Confucius Institute further affirmed the commitment and passion the Chinese Government had for Ghana and expressed the hope that the relationship would be sustained and strengthened for the mutual benefits of the two countries.