Chinese vice premier inaugurates new Confucius Classroom in Mexico

Chinese vice premier Liu Yandong talks to the students attending the Confucius Classroom in Mexico, Aug 7. [Photo/Xinhua]

CANCUN, Mexico - A new Confucius Classroom was inaugurated at the Universidad del Caribe (Unicaribe) by visiting Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong on Sunday in Cancun, in the southeast Mexican state of Quintana Roo.

During the inauguration ceremony, Liu said that Mexican students' fluent Chinese and great performances made her feel the charm of cultural exchange, and see the bright future of friendly ties between the two countries.

The bilateral relationship between China and Mexico was upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Mexico in June 2013.

Liu said that 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, Liu said her visit aimed to implement important agreements reached by the two presidents, by enhancing political mutual trust, expanding economic cooperation, and deepening cultural and people-to-people exchanges to further nourish China-Mexico ties.

Fostering friendly ties between the peoples is the key to sound relations between states, said Liu, noting that along with deepening cooperation between China and Mexico, more and more young Chinese are learning Spanish with more than 30 universities teaching the Spanish language.

Meanwhile, the Chinese language is also gaining increasing importance in Latin American countries, she said.

Mexico has established five Confucius Institutes that together have 30,000 registered students, making an important contribution to cultural exchange between the two countries, Liu noted.

Liu was welcomed by President of Unicaribe Tirso Juan Ordaz Coral and President of the Autonomous University of Yucatan (UADY) Jose de Jesus Williams. Liu also visited the Chinese teaching center at the university and interacted with local students.

The newly inaugurated Confucius Classroom at Unicaribe is overseen by the UADY's Confucius Institute.