Madam Liu Yandong: hoping Confucius Classroom at Universidad del Caribe will cultivate many envoys of China-Mexico friendship

On the afternoon of August 7th, local time, Madam Liu Yandong, Vice Premier of the State Council of China, visited the Universidad del Caribe (Unicaribe) in Cancun, Mexico, and inaugurated the Confucius Classroom at Unicaribe, which is affiliated to the Confucius Institute at Autonomous University of Yucatan.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong (L, front) talking with students of Confucius Classroom at Universidad del Caribe (Unicaribe) during her visit to Unicaribe in Cancun, Mexico

When Madam Liu Yandong arrived, a warm and passionate welcoming ceremony with rich Mayan features was held by President of the Autonomous University of Yucatan (UADY) Jose de Jesus Williams and President of Unicaribe Tirso Juan Ordaz Coral as well as teachers and students of the Confucius Institute. Then, Madam Liu visited the Chinese teaching site of the foreign language teaching center and conducted cordial exchanges with students every now and then. A student representative of the Confucius Institute, whose Chinese name is Bai Moli, shared her experience in learning Chinese. According to her, the more she learns Chinese, the more she wants to know China, the more she loves China and the more she understands the importance of China to Mexico. She also vowed to cherish the opportunity to learn Chinese and strive to enhance China-Mexico friendship in the future. Later, students of the Confucius Institute performed a choir singing of the song Tomorrow Will Be Better, showcasing their expectations of and confidence in the relations between the two countries.

Vice Premier Liu Yandong delivering a speech

While addressing the inauguration ceremony, Madam Liu noted that she was really moved by Mexican students’ fluent Chinese and great performances, from which she truly felt the charm of cultural exchanges and saw the bright future of friendly ties between the two countries. She pointed out that both China and Mexico were ancient civilized countries and cultural giants and enjoyed their long history and splendid culture. Chinese civilization and Maya civilization have made significant contributions to the world civilization. Despite the fact that we are separated by the vast Pacific Ocean, the friendship between both peoples goes back to ancient times. Both as large developing countries and important emerging markets, China and Mexico serve as development opportunity for each other. In June 2013, during President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Mexico, the two presidents decided to upgrade China-Mexico relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. According to Madam Liu, China hopes to work together with Mexico to deepen pragmatic cooperation in various fields and bring more benefits to the two peoples. As the year 2017 will mark the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Madam Liu said her visit aimed to implement important agreements reached by the two presidents and further nourish China-Mexico ties through enhancing political mutual trust, expanding economic cooperation, and deepening cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong posing for a group photo with teachers and students at Universidad del Caribe (Unicaribe) during her visit to Unicaribe in Cancun, Mexico

Madam Liu stressed, "Amity between people holds the key to sound relations between states." As the carrier of culture, language serves as a bridge to connect minds. A command of another language means a key to experiencing diverse civilizations and promoting exchanges and mutual learning. Along with the deepening cooperation between China and Mexico as well as that between China and Latin American countries, more and more young Chinese are learning Spanish with more than 30 universities which offer degree programs of the Spanish language. Meanwhile, the Chinese language is also gaining increasing importance in Latin American countries. Mexico has established five Confucius Institutes that have 30,000 registered students altogether, making an important contribution to cultural exchanges between the two countries. In 2014, with joint efforts by both sides, the Confucius Institute at Autonomous University of Yucatan launched the Chinese teaching site at Unicaribe. Within only two years, the Chinese language programs here have achieved rapid development and remarkable outcomes. It is now serving as an important platform for people in the city of Cancun and even the state of Quintana Roo to learn the Chinese language and understand the Chinese culture. Finally, while wishing a brighter future for the Confucius Classroom at Unicaribe and five Confucius Institutes in Mexico, Madam Liu extended her sincere hope that they would offer better service to help the Mexican people learn the Chinese language and understand China and the Chinese culture, so as to cultivate more and more envoys of China-Mexico friendship.

(Photos by Mauricio Collado/Xinhua News Agency)