Academic exchanges and collaborations between China and Spain have seen a remarkable rise in recent years as more young people engage in language learning and academic institutions launch partner programs, highlighting the growing closeness between the two countries.
Ties between the two sides have been in the spotlight this week as Spain's King Felipe VI wraps up a four-day state visit to China on Thursday, which saw him meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other senior leaders in Beijing. It marked his first since ascending the throne in 2014 and the first visit by a Spanish monarch to China in 18 years.
During their meeting in the Chinese capital on Wednesday, the two heads of state pledged to deepen exchanges across multiple sectors and signed ten cooperation agreements spanning fields such as economy and trade, science and technology, and education.
As one of Spain's most prestigious public universities with a history of more than 700 years, the Complutense University of Madrid last year launched a research institute with China's Renmin University, aiming to enhance educational collaboration and promote cultural exchanges and mutual learning.
Luo Huiling, a professor teaching Chinese language and culture at the Complutense University, said she has seen an extraordinary growth in the number of students attending her classes over the past decade.
"The first year that I began teaching Chinese language and culture, I only had six students. Now, we have to divide our first-year class into two groups, because there are 80, and they don't all fit in one classroom," Luo said.
Some of her students have already sought to utilize their newly-acquired language skills by traveling to China, including Alexandra Gica, who said she fully embraced the culture and customs she experienced when visiting the country.
"I do like a lot their festivities, like what they do for [Chinese] New Year's, for example," she said.
Meanwhile, Chinese students studying Spanish in Madrid say they are also enjoying their time in Spain, from the food to the way of life.
"The paella, the attitude to time, and the center of Madrid is really beautiful. I really like it here," said a Chinese student named Tian.
Last year, nearly 35,000 students took up Spanish lessons in China, a 20-fold increase compared to the year 2000 in another sign of the growing appetite for language exchanges. Further partnerships between academic institutions have also been struck up in recent years, with Madrid's Nebrija University opening a joint institute with Nanjing University in east China.
Nebrija's Rector Montserrat Gomendio Kindelan, a former Spanish secretary of state for education, says education is a key engine of economic growth and sees the need for greater bilateral cooperation on the development of artificial intelligence (AI).
"I think China is really leading in the sense that it has understood very early on that the implementation of AI through education is the way to develop the talent needed to use AI in the right way. So I think there are a lot of things that we can learn from each other," she said.
Academic exchanges flourish between China, Spain as bilateral bonds deepen
Academic exchanges flourish between China, Spain as bilateral bonds deepen
Academic exchanges flourish between China, Spain as bilateral bonds deepen
