The Confucius Institute of the Universitat de València organises the official exams of Chinese

Students taking the Chinese exams at the Universitat de València

The classrooms of the Faculty of Philology, Translation and Communication were full of people on Saturday 6 June for the official exams of Chinese: HSK, HSKK, and YCT. The Confucius Institute of the Universitat de València (ICUV) organises the exams, which are recognised by the Chinese Ministry of Education and internationally accredited. This year, the registration has increased a 30 % in comparison with 2025.

The Chinese proficiency exams are composed of six levels of HSK (written exam), three levels of HSKK (oral exams) and four levels of YCT (exam for primary and high school students). Since last year, from level 3 of HSK, the oral exam is mandatory along with the written exam.

Exams are aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) from A1 to C2. A new revision is currently being made to adapt them more accurately to the European system, and the changes will modify the exams structure and the vocabulary that contains them. Furthermore, levels 7, 8, and 9 at the HSK have been added as a single multi-language exam. The implementation of the new system, known as 3.0, will come into force this year and in 2027, so it remains in test phase.

The ICUV is the only official centre of the Valencian Community that offers these exams. Its director, Vicent Andreu, states that “students realise the importance of these certifications in order to receive scholarships, job opportunities, and they take it as a personal challenge to show the effort made during the whole academic year. No one can let the importance of this language pass in their professional resume”. Since it is the oldest Confucius Institute in Spain, the ICUV will celebrate on November their 19 years of “society service”, as the slogan says. Since 2007, more than 7000 students have gone through their lessons, of which approximately two-thirds of them have made the official exams. This year registration has reached 400 students, which means there is an increase of a 30 % in comparison with last year.

With more than 500 centres around the world, the ICUV has been recognised since 2015 as the “Model Confucius Institute” and as one of the 20 best centres of the world. It has also received significant awards, such as the Premi al Mèrit Cultural (Cultural Merit Award) on 9 October by the Generalitat, and the Gold Medal of the Fundación Internacional per a l’Educació de la Llengua Xinesa (International Foundation for the Chinese Language Education).

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