Chang Yu, secretary of the CPC BISU Committee, visited several prestigious universities in Spain, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and the Samaranch Foundation from Sept 4 to 6. His visit was aimed at exchanging ideas on cooperation between BISU and Spanish universities.  

Upon their arrival, the delegation paid a visit to Camilo Jose Cela University (UCJC). Chang congratulated   Hector Escamilla for taking office as the rector, and the two sides had a discussion on Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools. 

Escamilla expressed his deep appreciation for China’s development achievements in recent years and the wish of UCJC to have a long-term and stable cooperation with BISU. After the meeting,   members of the delegation continued to discuss   cooperation between the two schools, and they also conducted an on-site investigation of the university. 

Photo taken during the visit to UNWTO

In the afternoon of Sept 4, Chang   met with the leaders of the UNWTO. The two sides had an in-depth exchange   on several topics, including BISU’s “Chinese + Tourism” online training program for UNWTO, Chinese experts’ inclusion into the organization’s experts database and their participation in domestic urban planning projects, and the Global UNWTO Students League. They reached consensus and made promises for future cooperation. The visit of Chang Yu   was posted on the director’s Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram etc.

Chang also paid a visit on the same day to the Chinese Embassy in Spain and met with Chargé d’Affaires Qu Xun and Chancellor Zhao Weiming, who gave the delegation a briefing about education in Spain. Chang elaborated on the tasks of the delegation and expressed his hope to receive guidance and support from the embassy in future cooperation with Spanish universities. Leaders of the embassy said that they would actively support the cooperation between BISU and Spanish universities.  

Photo taken with leaders of Chinese embassy in Spain

On Sept 5, Chang led the delegation to visit Alfonso X el Sabio University (UAX) and negotiated with Ms. Isabel Fernández, the rector and Ms. Iris Núñez-Trébol, the vice rector and other leaders about Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools. After the meeting, the delegation conducted an on-site investigation of the campus and Chang asked specifically about the major curriculum, the number of beds for international students, the number of books in the library and the number of students the university can admit.  

Chang held talks with Dr. Xavier Ramos Morilla, vice rector of the University of Barcelona (UAB) and other UAB leaders on Sept 6. They engaged in an in-depth exchange of views on the possibility of Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools. Chang invited experts from the University of Barcelona to come to China as   visiting scholars and invited students from the university to join the Summer Program on “An Overview of Modern China and City Development”. Ramos said that the university was very interested in the cooperation projects proposed by BISU and would actively hold exchange activities for students and teachers of the two schools. He also said that the cooperation in running schools would be further discussed in the future. UAB is a top university in Spain with which BISU has had contacts for several times yet the partnership has not been built. Chang’s successful visit to UAB is an important step for the cooperation between BISU and top universities in Spain. 

During his visit in Spain, Chang also paid a visit to Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., vice president of International Olympic Committee (IOC), founder and honorary president of Samaranch Sports Development Foundation. Chang thanked Samaranch and his foundation for their active effort in promoting the cooperation between BISU and Spanish universities. He listened to Samaranch’s suggestions on implementing the cooperation projects. Samaranch stated that he and his foundation would spare no effort in assisting BISU in stepping up cooperation with Spanish universities and he hoped to see the implementation of more projects.

Samaranch Sports Development Foundation was initiated by the Samaranch family and registered in the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China. Upholding the spirit of   Samaranch as “an old friend of the Chinese people”, the foundation aims to continue the friendship between   Samaranch and the Chinese people, to promote the development of sports culture in China, to spread the Olympic ideals and to promote international sports and cultural exchanges.  

Officials from different departments accompanied Chang on his visit.