In 2004, the Chinese government established Confucius Institutes to promote the Chinese language and culture abroad. These institutes are nonprofit organizations attached to foreign academic institutions such as universities.

In 2004, the Volunteer Chinese Teacher Program of Hanban was launched by the Ministry of Education, and is intended to address the shortfall in overseas Chinese teachers. As of the end of 2010, Hanban dispatched over 10,000 volunteers to 89 countries.

According to Hanban's 2011 annual report, there were 358 Confucius Institutes and 500 Confucius Classrooms in 105 countries and regions by the end of 2011, with 122 institutes in Europe. There are more than 10,000 full-time and part-time teachers, 2,200 of whom were dispatched by Hanban.

There were 500,000 registered students in 2011.

In 2011, Hanban sent 3,343 Chinese language teachers and 3,472 volunteers abroad.

Hanban and its foreign partners provided $275 million in funding, in 2011.