On October 9, Dean and Party Secretary Deng Chundong met with Spanish scholars in Madrid
On October 9, 2016, Deng Chundong, Director and Party Column Secretary of the Institute of Marxism Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), met in Madrid, Spain, with Mr. Rafael Bueno, Director of Politics, Economy, and Education at Spain’s "Casa Asia"—the co-organizer of the Spanish venue for the European Forum on the "Chinese Path." They engaged in a candid and in-depth exchange regarding the preparatory progress of the Spanish venue for the forum and various topics of mutual concern. Other Spanish representatives participating in the symposium included notable scholars and institutional representatives involved in Chinese affairs, such as Ms. Georgina Higueras, President of the Association of Spanish Students in China; Mr. Miguel Otero-Iglesias, Senior Analyst at the Elcano Royal Institute (RIE); Professor Pedro A. García Bilbao and Professor Maximiliano Fernández of King Juan Carlos University, both senior researchers at the Hen Hao [1] (Known China) Forum; and Mr. Chen Wenjun, representative of the Hen Hao Forum.
Director Deng Chundong first provided the attending Spanish scholars with a detailed introduction to the original intention and significance of holding the European Forum on the "Chinese Path." Deng Chundong pointed out that China has achieved achievements of world-renowned proportions over the thirty years of Reform and Opening-up [2]. He noted that it is the unshirkable responsibility of Chinese scholars to interpret the successful experiences and underlying causes of the "Chinese Path," and to provide counsel and suggestions for China as it responds to the challenges of globalization. He added that during this visit to Spain, there was an earnest expectation that Spanish academic circles would offer valuable opinions and suggestions regarding the Chinese Path and the forum itself.
Ms. Georgina Higueras stated that the China-Europe Forum provides an excellent platform for scholars from China and Europe—particularly China and Spain—to exchange views on major issues of our era, such as China-Europe relations, regional situations, and the global landscape. Senior Analyst Miguel Otero-Iglesias argued that China is exerting increasingly significant international influence within the international political and economic order; China's confident and open attitude serves as a powerful counter-response to European protectionism, and there are many experiences in areas such as reform and opening-up that China and Spain should exchange for mutual learning [3]. Professor Pedro García Bilbao expressed that China and Spain face many common development challenges; he noted that all sectors of Spanish society urgently need to understand an "unfiltered" China and that Sino-Spanish academic exchanges should be rooted in direct bilateral dialogue, rather than relying on information from third countries to understand one another.
Director Deng Chundong expressed his sincere gratitude for the views and suggestions put forward by the Spanish scholars and conveyed his willingness to further strengthen cooperation and exchange with Spanish academia. Chinese representatives attending the symposium also included Researcher Tang Zhouyan, Party Column Secretary of the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences; Professor Qin Xuan of the School of Marxism at Renmin University of China; Researcher Lyu Weizhou, Director of the International Communist Movement Department of the CASS Institute of Marxism Studies; and Professor Li Jixing, Director of the Center for China Equilibrium Studies at Peking University.
(Contributed by He Qin)