Spanish Prime Minister visits Shanghai's Tongji University

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez led a delegation to Tongji University in Shanghai on Tuesday, learning about the school's cooperation and exchange with Spain, and talked with the students about their business plans.

Yao Jing, Chinese ambassador to Spain; Marta Betanzos, Spanish ambassador to China; Fang Shou'en, Party secretary of Tongji; Zheng Qinghua, president of Tongji; and representatives from the Technical University of Madrid were present at the event.

Sanchez first attended a meeting that reviewed the cooperation between Tongji and Spain and encouraged students with good entrepreneurial plans to innovate and start business.

Fang and Zheng recalled the long-term partnership between Tongji and universities in Spain. They highlighted the university's commitment to pooling global education resources and expected further collaboration on fostering students' capabilities to innovate and start business.

Representatives from Tongji University and the Technical University of Madrid briefed on the latest developments of the Sino-Spanish Campus at Tongji University in supporting the entrepreneurial programs of Spanish students in Shanghai. Three young entrepreneurs from China and Spain presented their startup projects.

Sanchez said that he is proud that universities in Spain have carried out fruitful cooperation with their Chinese counterparts, including Tongji. He stressed that further efforts are needed to push forward collaboration and exchanges in the fields of education, technology, and culture between the two countries in the future.

After the meeting, Sanchez visited an exhibition that showcased the fruitful results of cooperation between Tongji and the Spanish universities as well as the entrepreneurial projects of youths from the two countries.

Also, Sanchez unveiled the nameplate of Xiji Incubator, a base for international entrepreneurs and innovators in China, together with Fang and Zheng. Established with joint efforts of the Sino-Spanish Campus and the Technical University of Madrid, the incubator aims to enrich Shanghai's entrepreneurial ecosystem and connect greentech startups.

"I visited something that gave me a particular sense of satisfaction and excitement, which was the Chinese-Spanish startup accelerator at Tongji University, where I saw young Spanish people working together with their Chinese counterparts," said the Spanish prime minister during a media briefing on Wednesday.

"In all these meetings, if there is one thing I have noted, it is the enormous growth potential of the relationship between Spain and China."

Zhang Zile contributed to this story.