Kinshasa, July 10th, 2025 (CPA) . -The University of Kinshasa (Unikin) reaffirmed on Thursday its commitment to continuing its partnership with China for its development, during a guided tour of students and professors at the Cultural and Artistic Centre for Central African Countries in Kinshasa (capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo) as part of Sino-Congolese cooperation in the DRC. ‘This visit is part of the Sino-Congolese friendship and, above all, the diversification of cooperation that Unikin Rector Jean-Marie Kayembe has initiated with other countries,’ said Professor Pascal Kapagama, Coordinator of the Unikin Cooperation and International Relations Unit. According to him, during these visits, which began on Wednesday 9 July, the students will benefit from certain knowledge within the framework of the Unikin-Chinese Embassy cooperation, which is likely to inspire in them a sense of entrepreneurship and innovation through new technologies in several fields.
Mr Kapagama said that this visit to the cultural center allowed the delegation to understand the value of endogenous knowledge, which enabled the construction of this building.
‘The entrepreneurs revealed to us that this building is unique; it is not a copy of an existing building in China because endogenous knowledge has been more highly valued, particularly through the use of copper and raffia motifs,’ he said.
Unikin-China, relations spanning more than five years
The Unikin delegation receiving explanations about the cultural center
Furthermore, Professor Pascal Kapagama noted that Unikin has been forging ties with the government of the People’s Republic of China for more than five years through its embassy in the Democratic Republic of Congo. ‘The University of Kinshasa has obtained scholarships (Mulan, Master’s and Doctorate), mobility grants to participate in conferences and forums in China accompanied by cultural visits, as well as various IT and office equipment.’ Most recently, he continued, the University of Kinshasa opened a Chinese Cultural Centre and a Confucius Institute, which were inaugurated by the ambassador and the rector three months ago. The Cultural and Artistic Centre for Central African Countries, visited by the Unikin delegation accompanied by the Chinese Embassy in the DRC, was inaugurated on December 14th, 2024 by the Head of State, Félix Tshisekedi. This cultural center and the new buildings of the National Institute of Arts (Ina) were built with funding from China amounting to more than US$100 million.
Construction work began on October 15th, 2019. The center covers an area of 37,000 m² and includes, among other things, two theatres, one with 2,000 seats and the other with 800 seats, auditoriums with a capacity of 300 seats and other rooms.