Remin University of China and Complutense University of Madrid on Sunday jointly launched a research center in Madrid, Spain, aiming to strengthen educational collaboration and promote cultural exchanges and mutual learning of civilizations between the China and Spain.

Huai Jinpeng, Chinese Minister of Education; Zhang Donggang, Party Secretary of Renmin University of China; Zhao Weimin, counselor for educational affairs of the Chinese Embassy in Spain; and Joaquín Goyache Goñi, rector of the Complutense University of Madrid, attended the launch ceremony.

Zhang Donggang and Joaquín Goyache Goñi jointly inaugurated the research center and signed a cooperation agreement between the two universities. The research center will focus on strengthening cooperation in four key areas: promoting youth exchanges, deepening university visits, advancing knowledge innovation and expanding civilization dialogue.

In his speech, Huai Jinpeng said that education is an important form of cultural exchange and dialogue, as it plays a crucial role in the inheritance and exchange of human civilization. “The establishment of the center fully reflects the wisdom of the two universities and embodies the foundation of cultural exchanges between China and Spain,” Huai said. He hopes that the research center will serve as a communication bridge between the two nations, contributing to the construction of a community with a shared future for humanity.

“Education is a fundamental means of promoting international understanding, facilitating connectivity between people and promoting global cultural exchanges,” Zhang Donggang said at the ceremony. “The research center focuses on pioneering and practical cooperation in education and cultural interactions between China and Spain,” he added.

Joaquín Goyache Goñi also said that universities have an important mission in promoting cultural exchange and mutual learning between civilizations. “As two leading universities in their respective countries, the establishment of the research center marks a new stage in the cooperation between the two institutions and countries, injecting vitality into mutual learning between China and Spain ” he said.

The fine arts schools of the two universities also signed a framework cooperation agreement, to deepen cooperation in exchange visits, talent cultivation and discipline construction in the future. The two universities have already carried out several inter-school visits and signed inter-institutional cooperation agreements.

In recent years, Renmin University of China has continuously expanded its educational and cultural exchanges with Spain, establishing cooperative partnerships with seven Spanish universities and institutions, including Complutense University of Madrid.

Guided by China’s three major global initiatives of development, security and civilization, Renmin University of China has also established many research centers in countries such as Greece, France, Hungary and Zimbabwe , thus providing important platforms for dialogue and exchange between different civilizations.