A ceremony was held online on Nov 23 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Centro de Estudios Mexicanos (CEM), which was jointly built by Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).

The event was attended by Yang Dan, president of BFSU and deputy secretary of the CPC BFSU committee; Jia Wenjian, deputy secretary of the CPC BFSU committee and vice-president of the university; Enrique Graue, rector of UNAM; and Patricia Dávila and Francisco Trigo, vice-rectors of UNAM. It was presided over by Chang Fuliang, dean of the Department of Hispanic and Portuguese at BFSU.

A ceremony is held online on Nov 23 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the CEM jointly built by BFSU and UNAM. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

Professor Adalberto Noyola, director of the CEM, delivered an opening address in which he reviewed the achievements made by the center in the past decade and introduced BFSU and UNAM’s upcoming cooperative projects.

A subsequent unveiling ceremony presided over by Noyola was held to release the logo and the commemorative coin for the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the center.

Adalberto Noyola, director of the CEM, releases the logo and the commemorative coin for the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the CEM. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

Following the ceremony, Yang and Graue renewed the foundational agreement of the CEM, which proved the partnership between BFSU and UNAM over the past 10 years and will witness the deepening of their cooperation in the future.

Yang Dan, president of BFSU and deputy secretary of the CPC BFSU committee, and Enrique Graue, rector of UNAM, deliver speeches. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

Graue said the CEM jointly built by UNAM and BFSU is the only research center for Mexican studies in Asia and is of great strategic significance. During the first 10 years of their cooperation, the center has become an important platform for academic and cultural exchanges between the two universities and has also promoted exchanges between UNAM and other universities in China.

Graue also enumerated the progress made by the CEM in academic research, Spanish communication and certification, Chinese and Mexican education, publishing, promotion, art and culture over the past decade. He thanked the officials of BFSU and staff members working at the center for their support over the years, and said he hopes that the CEM will deepen its ties with the university and hold activities in the sciences, humanities, social studies, economics and culture with other higher education institutions to promote inter-school cooperation and mutual understanding between China and Mexico.

Yang said this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Mexico and the two countries will witness the 10th anniversary of their comprehensive strategic partnership next year. Renewing the cooperation between BFSU and UNAM and commemorating the 10th anniversary of the CEM mean a lot as the China-Mexico relationship is at its best level in history, he added.

As an important base for cultivating high-quality talents in foreign-related fields in China, BFSU has constantly promoted exchanges and cooperation with universities and academic institutions around the world, among which its collaboration with UNAM is a typical example. Over the past decade, the two universities have yielded fruitful results in talent training, cultural communication and academic research. Their strong partnership has played an important role in strengthening the friendship between the Chinese and Mexican people, promoting mutual benefit and win-win results and building a China-Latin America community with a shared future and a community with a shared future for mankind, according to Yang.

Yang said he hopes the renewal of the agreement will bring the cooperation and exchanges between the two universities to a new stage.

A Mexican musician performs a Chinese song. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]