The 5th "China Path European Forum" (Spain Venue) Held in Valencia
On October 11, the "2018 Chinese Road Europe Forum (Spain Session)" was convened 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" [1], and co-organized by the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, the Galician Institute for International Analysis and Documentation (IGADI), the Valencia City Council, and the Confucius Institute at the University of Valencia. The theme of this year’s forum was "The Chinese Solution [2] 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 Regional Sustainable Economy of the Valencia City Government. Sandra Gómez, Vice-Mayor of Valencia, delivered the closing summary speech.
Deng Chundong pointed out that the high caliber of the Spanish delegates attending the forum reflected the great importance Spain attaches to the forum. He expressed three hopes for achieving positive outcomes: first, to conduct research around the "Chinese Road," objectively introducing the reality of China's recent development and progress in economy, politics, culture, society, and ecological civilization [3], so that all sectors of Spanish society can understand the real China; second, for the forum's research to serve the economic and social development and exchange cooperation between China and Spain, with the academic community actively building bridges and contributing wisdom to promote the realization of the strategic vision for China-EU cooperation; third, to actively explore major international events and topics concerning the shared future of humanity, proposing feasible solutions and making positive contributions to the construction of a more just and reasonable international economic order.
The opening ceremony was chaired by Hao Lixin, Dean of the School of Philosophy at Renmin University of China.
In their remarks, Carles Padilla, David Navarro, Daniel González Palau, and Julio Olmos unanimously agreed that in recent years, the friendly relations between China and Spain have increased daily, with continuous interactive exchanges. The rise of China on the international stage has brought various development opportunities to European countries. In the future, promoting deep cooperation between China and Europe across various fields will be the direction for achieving common development. Furthermore, they emphasized working together through sincere dialogue and cooperation to address various challenges from the international community and to strive for global prosperity and peace.
The first session was chaired by He Xinyuan, Deputy Director of the Department of Sinicization of Marxism at the Institute of Marxism Studies, CASS. Presentations were given by Enrique Fanjul, Vice President of the "Spanish Network of Friends of China" (Know China); Yuan Hongying, Vice President of the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences; and Professors Ester Alba and Jorge Sebastián of the University of Valencia.
The second session was chaired by Professor Zhang Ruimin of the School of Marxism at South-Central Minzu University. Presentations were given by Xu Baoyou, a researcher from the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee; Peng Pingping, Editor and Division Chief at the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee; Vicente Andreu, Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Valencia; and Andrés Herrera, Partner and President of Herrera-Zhang Consulting.
The third session was chaired by Wang Yong, Vice Dean of the School of Marxism at Guizhou Normal University. Presentations were given by Georgina Higueras, Vice President of the "Spanish Network of Friends of China" (Know China); Professor Liu Zhili of the School of Marxism at Dalian University of Technology; and Professor Zhang Xiaozhong of the School of Marxism at Jiangsu Normal University.
The fourth session was chaired by Professor Jia Xiufen of the School of Marxism at East China University of Political Science and Law. Presentations were given by Gao Jiwen, Dean of the School of Marxism at Shandong Normal University; Professor Rubén Amón of Columbia University; Wang Chengli, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the editorial department of Dongyue Forum [4] at the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences; Professor Beatriz Irún of Jaume I University and ESIC Business School; and Guillermo Palau, Professor at the University of Valencia and coordinator of the Silk Road project.
In her summary, Sandra Gómez opined that China has made significant contributions to world peace and prosperity, demonstrating a firm attitude and solid steps toward maintaining world peace, which is admirable and worth learning from. She expressed the hope to further expand all-around cooperation with China, actively seize the opportunities brought to Spain by the "Belt and Road Initiative" [5], and make full use of Spain’s profound historical advantages and rich resources to lay a solid foundation for further deep cooperation, continuously creating a new situation for China-Spain cooperation.
During this forum, experts and scholars from CASS, 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 specialized speeches. They focused on discussions regarding the political and economic challenges facing the EU, China's reform and opening up, new focal points for China-EU cooperation, global challenges from Chinese and European perspectives, and the "Belt and Road Initiative" as a bridge for China-EU cooperation. Nearly one hundred experts and scholars from China and Spain attended the forum.
The "Chinese Road Europe Forum" was founded in 2014, aiming to strengthen China-Europe academic exchanges, increase European society's understanding of China, and promote friendship and cooperation between the two sides.