Chinese government donated over 25,700 US dollars to the Chinese Association in Cambodia Friday in order to support Chinese language teaching in the country.

The hand-over ceremony was made at the Chinese Embassy to Cambodia between the Ambassador Pan Guangxue and Duong Chhiv, the president of the Chinese Association in Cambodia.

Speaking at the event, Pan said that, of the donated amount, $10, 000 was donated by the Embassy and the other $15,700 was granted by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China.

He expressed appreciation to the association for its long- lasting efforts in promoting Chinese language and culture in Cambodia.

The Ambassador said that he observed that, in recent years, Chinese language has not only been popular among Cambodian students, but also among the public servants and government officials.

"The promotion of Chinese language and culture in Cambodia is very vital to boost Sino-Cambodian relationship and to make closer ties between Chinese and Cambodian peoples," he said, pledging to continue supporting Chinese language schools in this country.

Meanwhile, Duong Chhiv expressed gratitude to China for its steady support to Chinese language schools in Cambodia, agreeing that from day to day, more and more Cambodians are interested in learning Chinese language thanks to close ties between Cambodia and China, which resulted in more Chinese investors in this country.

According to the association, Chinese schools have been mushrooming in recent years. Currently, there are 57 Chinese schools with more than 40,000 students throughout Cambodia.