The forum is a continuation of the agreement signed in 2024 between the Complutense University and Renmin University to establish a research institute for humanities. UCM Rector Joaquín Goyache aims to expand this collaboration to other areas of knowledge. The first edition of the forum took place in China in 2025.
At the inauguration, the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Spain, Yao Jing, highlighted the commonalities between both cultures and the need for "all civilizations on this planet to evolve together."
The event included the exhibition "Living Between Distances: Joint Creation and Mutual Learning Between China and Spain," featuring works by professors and students from both institutions. Raquel Monje, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at UCM, emphasized the "enormous creative potential" and the "plurality of perspectives and sensitivities" of the authors, stating that art "allows us to connect, recognize each other, and learn from one another, beyond distances."
Zhang Chun, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Renmin University, sent a video message in which he, along with Chen Fang, Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Renmin University (represented by Li Yan, Director of the Joint Research Center for Civilizations Exchange and Mutual Learning), stressed that "the resilience of a civilization is manifested in its ability to preserve its cultural roots, its spiritual identity, and its transitions in the face of historical transformations and the challenges of each era."
Chen Fang highlighted the role of language and literature as vehicles of historical memory and expressions of shared human aspirations. Meanwhile, Eduardo Valls, Dean of the Faculty of Philology at UCM, stated that the study of languages and cultures enables "understanding different ways of seeing the world" and noted the faculty's advancements in teaching Chinese and East Asian studies.
