There are nearly 60 of the institutes nationwide and some 396 globally.
Unlike France's Alliance Francaise and Germany's Goethe Institutes, the Confucius Institutes are largely hosted at universities. That, and funding from the Chinese government, has left some skeptical about whether they'll infringe on a university's academic freedom.
China observers see the institutes as part of the country's efforts to reshape its image in a more positive light.
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