State Councilor Yang Jiechi made a speech while attending the fourth World Chinese Language and Culture Education Conference in Beijing on Dec 19.

Yang spoke highly of the great contribution made by overseas Chinese to the promotion of Chinese language and culture education, and urged more efforts for its future development and prosperity.

China has attached great importance to overseas Chinese language and education development, and new progress and results have been achieved on standardization and professionalization of such fields, said the state councilor.

With progress being achieved, he encouraged those dedicated in the field to further raise standards in running language schools with improved teaching skills and required qualifications.

He also called for more active efforts to promote Chinese culture, stories and achievements.

A total of 600 representatives from 55 countries and regions attended the conference.