Chinanews, Beijing, Jun. 21 – According to the statistics of the Office of Chinese Language Council International, currently there are 156 Confucius Institutes (Classrooms) spreading in 54 countries and regions.Xu Lin, the office director, said on Wednesday that there are 52 Confucius Institutes (Classrooms) in Asia, 11 in Africa, 55 in Europe, 34 in America and 4 in Oceania, and 205 applicants that want to set up such institutes. Two thirds of these institutes have been operating smoothly, and the rest of them will start to enroll students later this year.Confucius Institute is a non-profit organization aiming at promoting Chinese language and culture around the world. More and more elementary and secondary schools also want to cooperate with local Confucius Institutes. Many famous transnational corporations also have strengthened Chinese language training in recent years.Xu revealed that many ways have been carried out to promote Chinese language in the world, and the Second International Conference on Confucius Institutes is planned to be held later this year.