The launch ceremony of the 2022 Overseas Chinese Teenagers Writing Competition is held in Rugao on May 24. [Photo by Ding Wei/chinadaily.com.cn]

The 2022 Overseas Chinese Teenagers Writing Competition was launched in Rugao, a county-level city of Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province, on May 24.

The competition aims to encourage overseas Chinese teenagers to learn and use the Chinese language as well as promote traditional Chinese culture.

The previous four editions of the competition received more than 45,000 entries from Chinese schools in 52 countries and regions.

Xu Donghai, director of the united front work department of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee, said at the launch ceremony that the writing competition facilitates an integration of cultures and expressed hope that overseas Chinese teenagers will use the language to depict their lives and express their ideas.

Wang Xiaohong, member of the standing committee of the CPC Nantong Municipal Government, noted that Nantong, as the hometown of overseas Chinese people, will make full use of its educational resources to compile teaching materials for Chinese schools in other countries and regions.

Gu Jingqi, China's consul general in Surabaya, Indonesia, said at the ceremony that the writing competition has a huge influence in Indonesia and is very helpful to improving the Chinese writing ability of overseas Chinese teenagers.

At the launch ceremony, six Nantong schools established friendly relations with counterparts in Spain, Indonesia and Australia.