"All the Confucius Institutes in Germany are operating well, but the lack of appropriate teaching materials is a shared problem," said Xu Lin, Director of the Chinese Language Council International (or Hanban in Chinese), at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Wednesday.

The main reason for this, Xu said, is the lack of experience promoting the Chinese language abroad. Moreover, the differences between Chinese and foreign language system increase to some extent the difficulty in compiling teaching materials.

"We hope to learn from the Goethe Institute (GI) on materials compilation," Xu added.

Founded in 1951, the GI is a non-profit German cultural institution operating worldwide, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and relations. Currently, there are 149 Goethe Institutes and 10 Liaison Offices in 91 countries that provide information on the culture, language and other general aspects of Germany. Three of institutes are in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Michael Kahn-Ackermann, President of GI in Beijing, said the GI has learned a lot from its counterpart the Confucius Institute, and wishes it a promising future.

In 2004, the Chinese Language Council International launched the non-profit Confucius Institute to promote Chinese language and culture as well as support local Chinese teaching internationally through collaboration with foreign academic institutions.

Currently, there are 11 Confucius Institutes and one Confucius Class across Germany, and 24 out of 64 teachers are locals.

Language plays a vital role in cross-cultural communication. Classic Chinese works such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin were introduced to German readers through English or German translations in the early 19th century. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 German works, both classic and contemporary, have been translated into Chinese in the past six decades.

In general, however, both countries lack access to each other's contemporary literature, compared with classic literature.

Huang Liaoyu, Dean of the German Department at Peking University, explained that there are fewer Chinese scholars and professional translators who research German literature than those who specialize in English, French and Russian works.

"German scholars prefer to research contemporary China by translating contemporary Chinese literature, but their Chinese counterparts prefer to translate and research Germany's classic works," Huang said.

According to the schedule, from October 14 to 18, China will stage over 600 events, aimed at showcasing Chinese culture and boosting dialogue between Chinese scholars and their foreign counterparts.

(Reporting from Frankfurt, Germany)