(L-R) Charlie Lee (Lee?Wai-chung), chairman of Lee Kum Kee, Guo Jiaoyang from Hanban, the executive body of the Chinese Language Council International, Leslie Fung, executive vice-president of Lee Kum Kee International Holdings Limited and Li Yuming, the party secretary of Beijing Language and Culture University pose at the signing ceremony on May 24 in Beijing.

Charlie Lee (Lee?Wai-chung), chairman of Lee Kum Kee, presents volunteer representative?with Chinese snack sauces at the signing ceremony on May 24 in Beijing.

Lee Kum Kee, a 124-year-old Chinese company that manufactures Asian sauces, signed a memorandum of cooperation on May 24 with the Confucius Institute Headquarters at Beijing Language and Culture University to help train volunteers to promote Chinese cuisine worldwide.

According to the memorandum of cooperation, Lee Kum Kee will help train volunteers in cooking, compile textbooks on Chinese cooking, send chefs to participate in classes, and enrich courses at Confucius Institutes in order to boost the international propagation of Chinese food culture.

At the signing ceremony, Lee Kum Kee presented volunteers with Chinese snack sauces and promised to provide ‘tailored’ Chinese snack sauces to about 4000 volunteers teaching at Confucius Institutes throughout the world in 2012.

Currently, there are 362 Confucius Institutes and 489 Confucius classrooms in 105 countries and regions.

Charlie Lee, chairman of Lee Kum Kee, said, “The Confucius Institute is an important platform where foreign friends learn Chinese and know about China. It is a great honor for Lee Kum Kee to be involved with volunteers who play an essential role in propagating Chinese culture.”