A seed of cooperation planted in the spring of 2013 has blossomed, nurturing the friendship between China and South Africa. In March of that same year, Chinese President Xi Jinping oversaw the signing of an agreement to establish the Confucius Institute at the Durban University of Technology. President Xi recently replied to a letter from students and faculty of the institute. In the letter, published Friday, he encouraged them to contribute to the friendship between the two countries.