China embraces the Confucian ethical concepts of compassion, morality, appropriate conduct and the ability to see what is right and fair. 
The Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Town (UCT) hopes to share those values with South Africa - as it does with the rest world - through the teaching of Mandarin and other cultural exchanges.

Founded in 2011 as an agreement of collaboration between the University of Cape Town (UCT) and Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU), the Confucius Institute at UCT is committed to scholarly and cultural exchanges between South Africa and China. 

As one of South Africa's largest trading partners, China has the potential to make a lasting and positive contribution to South Africa, both in terms of business and cultural diversity. As relations between the two countries increase, there is a growing need to understand Chinese culture and language. 
The Confucius Institute at UCT aims to promote a healthy exchange of ideas and knowledge between South Africa and China through: 

»    Credit-bearing Chinese (Mandarin) courses at the School of Languages and Literatures at UCT 
»    Chinese (Mandarin) third year & major 
»    Chinese cultural and arts programmes 
»    Chinese courses for staff 
»    Chinese basics
»    "Happy Chinese" for secondary schools                "Monkey King Chinese" for primary schools 
»    "Chinese Bridge" - a proficiency competition for international university students
»    Confucius Institute scholarships for a master's degree, one year or one semester study at a Chinese university 
»    An intensive Chinese language and culture summer camp in China
»    Chinese proficiency tests: Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK), Hanyu Shuiping Kouyu Kaoshi (HSKK) and the Youth Chinese Test (YCT)
»    Organising visiting tours to China for local educators

The Confucius Institute at UCT also works at creating a platform for communication and collaboration between UCT and Chinese universities/ academics through being: 

»    A center for enquiries of China affairs
»    An academic link between SY SU and UCT
»    The bridge to UCT's China initiatives
»    The facilitator of links between UCT and other Chinese Universities