The 5th "China Path European Forum" (Spain Venue) Held in Valencia on October 11
On October 11, the "2018 Europe Forum on the Chinese Road (Spain Venue)" was held in Valencia. This forum was co-hosted by the Institute of Marxism Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and the Spanish "Casa Asia" (亚洲之家), with co-organization provided by the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, the Galician Institute for International Analysis and Documentation (IGADI) of Spain, the Valencia City Council, and the Confucius Institute at the University of Valencia. The theme of this year's forum was "Chinese Solutions in the New Era and European Development." Opening remarks were delivered by Deng Chundong, Party Secretary and Director of the Institute of Marxism Studies at CASS; Carles Padilla, Vice-Rector for International Relations at the University of Valencia; David Navarro, Director of "Casa Asia"; Daniel González Palau, Director of the Galician Institute for International Analysis and Documentation; and Julio Olmos, Director General of the Department of Sustainable Regional Economic Development of the Valencia City Government. Sandra Gómez, Vice-Mayor of Valencia, delivered the concluding remarks.
Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Europe Forum on the Chinese Road (Spain Venue)
Deng Chundong noted that the high level of the Spanish representatives attending the forum reflected the great importance Spain attaches to the forum. He expressed three hopes for achieving positive outcomes: first, to conduct research and discussion centered on the "Chinese Road" [1], objectively introducing the reality of China's recent progress in economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological civilization [2] development to allow all sectors of Spanish society to understand the true China; second, for the forum's deliberations to serve the development, exchange, and cooperation of the Chinese and Spanish economies and societies, with the academic community actively building bridges and contributing wisdom to promote the realization of the strategic vision for China-Europe cooperation; and third, to actively explore major international events and topics concerning the shared future of humanity, proposing feasible response plans to make active contributions toward constructing a more just and reasonable international economic order.
Deng Chundong, Party Secretary and Director of the Institute of Marxism Studies, CASS, delivers a speech. Hao Lixin, Dean of the School of Philosophy at Renmin University of China, presides over the opening ceremony.
In their speeches, Carles Padilla, David Navarro, Daniel González Palau, and Julio Olmos reached a consensus that the friendly relations between China and Spain have grown day by day in recent years, with interactive exchanges continuously expanding. They noted that China's rise on the international stage has brought various development opportunities to European countries. In the future, promoting deep cooperation between China and Europe across all fields will be the direction for achieving common development. Furthermore, they emphasized that through sincere dialogue and cooperation, China and Europe can jointly respond to various challenges from the international community and strive for the realization of global prosperity and peace.
Vice-Rector for International Relations at the University of Valencia, Carles Padilla, delivers a speech. Director of the Spanish "Casa Asia," David Navarro, delivers a speech. Director of the Galician Institute for International Analysis and Documentation, Daniel González Palau, delivers a speech. Director General of the Department of Sustainable Regional Economic Development of the Valencia City Government, Julio Olmos, delivers a speech.
He Xinyuan, Deputy Director of the Department of Marxism Sinicization at the Institute of Marxism Studies, CASS, presides over the first unit of the conference. Enrique Fanjul, Vice President of the Spanish "Spanish Chamber of Commerce" (知华讲堂), speaks. Yuan Hongying, Vice President of the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, speaks. Professor Ester Alba of the University of Valencia speaks. Professor Jorge Sebastián of the University of Valencia speaks. Xu Baoyou, Researcher at the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, speaks. Professor Zhang Ruimin of the School of Marxism at South-Central Minzu University presides over the second unit. Peng Pingping, Senior Editor and Division Chief at the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, speaks. Vicente Andreu, Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Valencia, speaks. Andrés Herrera, Partner and President of Herrera-Zhang Consulting, speaks. Wang Yong, Vice Dean of the School of Marxism at Guizhou Normal University, presides over the third unit. Georgina Higueras, Vice President of the Spanish "Spanish Chamber of Commerce" (知华讲堂), speaks. Professor Liu Zhili of the School of Marxism at Dalian University of Technology speaks. Professor Zhang Xiaozhong of the School of Marxism at Jiangsu University of Technology speaks. Professor Jia Xiufen of the School of Marxism at East China University of Political Science and Law presides over the fourth unit. Gao Jiwen, Dean of the School of Marxism at Shandong Normal University, speaks. Professor Rubén Amante from the University of Columbia speaks. Wang Chengli, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the editorial department of Dongyue Tribune (东岳论丛) at the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, speaks. Professor Beatriz Irún of the University of Jaume I and ESIC Business School at the University of Valencia speaks. Professor Guillermo Palao, Silk Road Project Coordinator at the University of Valencia, speaks.
In her summary, Sandra Gómez opined that China has made significant contributions to world peace and prosperity. She stated that China's firm attitude and solid steps toward maintaining world peace are admirable and worthy of study. She expressed hope to further develop all-encompassing cooperation with China, actively seizing the opportunities brought to Spain by the "Belt and Road Initiative" [3]. By fully utilizing Spain’s profound historical advantages and rich resource advantages, she aimed to lay a solid foundation for further deep cooperation between China and Spain, continuously creating a new situation in bilateral cooperation.
Sandra Gómez, Vice-Mayor of Valencia, delivers the concluding speech.
At this forum, experts and scholars from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Renmin University of China, the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, Dalian University of Technology, Shandong Normal University, and Jiangsu Normal University delivered thematic speeches. They focused their discussions on the political and economic challenges facing the European Union and China's reform and opening up, new focal points of China-Europe cooperation, global challenges from Chinese and European perspectives, and the "Belt and Road" as a bridge for China-Europe cooperation. Nearly one hundred experts and scholars from China and Spain attended the forum.
Group photo of participants at the Europe Forum on the Chinese Road (Spain Venue).
The "Europe Forum on the Chinese Road" was founded in 2014 with the aim of strengthening Sino-European academic exchanges, increasing European society's understanding of China, and promoting friendship and cooperation between the two sides.
(Reported by Yang Jing, Photography by Chen Airu)