Since its establishment in 2004, Confucius Institutes have been committed to serving cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, and promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. Through innovative practices, Confucius Institutes have played an important role in international Chinese education, and have significant implications for promoting educational development and enhancing brand influence.

1、 Definition of related concepts

We have delved into the definition and connotation of "international Chinese education", defining it as all activities related to Chinese education worldwide, including basic education, higher education, vocational education, and social education. At the same time, the concept of public value was discussed, emphasizing its importance in social development, and pointing out that the realization of public value requires meeting public needs, providing public goods and services, as well as being guided by public interest oriented concepts, institutional guarantees, and practices.

2、 The manifestation of the public value of Confucius Institutes

Deeply explored the public value and implementation methods of Confucius Institutes in international Chinese education. The public value of Confucius Institutes is mainly reflected in the following aspects: Firstly, Confucius Institutes are committed to meeting the needs of Chinese language learners worldwide. By providing general services such as Chinese language teaching, exams, cultural consultation, and communication, as well as localized development tailored to the needs of different regions, they have formed a diversified Chinese education program and curriculum system. Secondly, Confucius Institutes have promoted Chinese language curriculum and cultural activities in their primary and secondary schools through cooperation with Chinese and foreign universities, effectively enhancing the status of Chinese language in foreign national education systems and promoting the popularization and strengthening of Chinese language education. In addition, Confucius Institutes have optimized the allocation of international Chinese education resources through resource aggregation and cooperation mechanisms, providing a direct platform for supply and demand to connect, and promoting the rational flow and matching of resources. Finally, Confucius Institutes provide talent, experience, and intellectual support for the development of international Chinese education, including training international Chinese teachers, sharing teaching and management experience, and providing academic resources and intellectual support for educational development through think tanks and academic research. These practices not only alleviate the contradiction between the demand and supply of international Chinese education, but also provide strong guarantees for the sustainable development of global Chinese education.

3、 The realization of the public value of Confucius Institutes

In depth exploration of the three key aspects of Confucius Institutes in achieving public value in international Chinese education: conceptual guidance, institutional guarantees, and practical support. Conceptual guidance emphasizes the core position of the concept of "a community with a shared future for mankind" in the development of Confucius Institutes, advocating a development concept of sharing and win-win, and a service concept guided by the needs of public Chinese education. In terms of institutional safeguards, the role of institutions in realizing the public value of Confucius Institutes was analyzed from three levels: macro, meso, and micro, including laws and regulations, policy agreements, cultural customs, internal institutional construction, and relevant systems and norms for language education practice activities. The practical support focuses on the provision of public goods by Confucius Institutes in meeting the needs of Chinese education, including material public goods such as teachers, textbooks, and courses, as well as non-material public goods such as concepts, systems, brands, and images. It particularly points out the importance of the brand image established by Confucius Institutes in the development process for enhancing the influence of international Chinese education.

4、 Optimization of the Public Value of Confucius Institutes

It emphasizes that in the context of the new era, Confucius Institutes should further optimize their public value to achieve sustainable development of international Chinese education. Three main strategies have been proposed: firstly, adhering to the concept of public welfare services, guided by the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, maintaining the balance of language and cultural ecology, and achieving coordinated development among diverse subjects; Secondly, improve the public service system, optimize the internal development mechanism, establish a mechanism for the construction and sharing of teaching resources, and optimize external development strategies to address external risks and promote positive interactions among diverse stakeholders; Finally, optimize the practice of providing public goods, improve the quality of education and brand image, investigate the Chinese education needs of different regions and groups, innovate educational content and forms, establish a multi-level and diversified supply system, achieve standardized construction of teaching services, build a quality assurance system, maintain brand image, and explore new forms and contents of education. At the same time, it emphasized the supporting role of Chinese universities in the development of Confucius Institutes, as well as the main role of Chinese and foreign educational institutions in running schools.