BAGHDAD, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Language Department of Salahaddin University held on Monday a "China Day" event in Erbil, the capital city of Iraq's Kurdistan region, to promote cultural exchanges.

Ni Ruchi, China's consul general in Erbil, attended the event and lauded the role of the department, established in 2019 as Iraq's first Chinese language institute for higher education, in promoting cultural and educational cooperation.

"Language is the bridge between nations, and we hope Kurdish students can be future economic, cultural and educational ambassadors," Ni said at the opening ceremony of the event.

The event kicked off with the theme song of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in the presence of local officials, students from the department, Chinese diplomats and business representatives.

Barzan Jaafar Ali, head of the department, said that by holding this event, "we are meant to make a bridge between the Chinese and Kurdish culture. We are trying to improve the relationship between the two cultures."

Atif Abdullah Farhadi, dean of the College of Languages to which the Chinese Language Department belongs, said, "We have a plan to extend the department and enroll a higher number of students, and we are planning to organize some special Chinese language courses for business people and traders."

Hiwa Xoshnaw, a junior student from the Chinese Language Department wearing a Chinese outfit, said that this kind of event "makes Chinese culture and language familiar to our people."