"To learn Chinese is not a challenge but to open up future opportunities," said Song, who also encouraged students to seize the opportunity and study hard. He revealed that the Chinese embassy will provide outstanding students in the school with scholarships and opportunities to study in China.

When launching the school, Antonio Nunes, director of Rio's Department of Education, said the state government of Rio is always dedicated to establishing bilingual schools as they provide new methods for education in Brazil.

"This Portuguese-Chinese high school is the 27th in our 'bilingual school' project, and also a symbol of cultural exchanges between Brazil and China," Nunes said.

"China is one of the most powerful economies in the world, at the same time the Chinese language has been more than just a cultural symbol. It is of great significance for the development of Brazil-China economic cooperation as well," the Brazilian official added.

Qiao Jianzhen, dean of the Pontifical Catholic University Confucius Institute and promoter of the bilingual high school, said the Chinese language is not as difficult as many Brazilians think.

In fact, in terms of grammar, the Chinese language is much simpler than the Portuguese language, she said. "I hope the school can contribute to the development of cultural exchanges between the two countries."