On May 12, Gao Xiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), met with Rebecca Lemos Igreja, secretary-general of the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) in Beijing.

CASS President Gao Xiang meets with Rebecca Lemos Igreja, secretary-general of the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) in Beijing. Photo: Zhu Gaolei/CSSN

Gao noted that both China and Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) countries possess long histories and rich cultural heritages, and that there is enormous potential for deepening people-to-people and cultural exchanges. In the new era, under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and leaders of LAC countries, and with support from the China–CELAC (the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum, significant progress has been made in building a China–LAC community with a shared future. He emphasized FLACSO's stature as one of the most prominent social science teaching and research institutions in the region. CASS has maintained strong ties with FLACSO over the years, regularly sending leading scholars to participate in events such as the lecture series featuring contemporary China and international symposia on contemporary China studies hosted by FLACSO. Looking ahead, he expressed hope that both sides would build on this foundation to upgrade cooperation levels, further advance joint research and academic journal collaboration, and promote personnel exchanges through measures such as formal cooperation agreements. Such broad and results-oriented collaboration, he said, would strengthen the foundation of public support for China–LAC friendship and contribute to the construction of a China-LAC community with a shared future.

Lemos expressed gratitude for the long-standing support that CASS has extended to FLACSO. She said she was pleased to see that the two institutions had forged close and amicable ties in recent years through a range of collaborative efforts. FLACSO looks forward to further deepening its cooperation with CASS and contributing actively to the advancement of LAC–China relations. 

The two sides also exchanged views on the current international landscape, the development of China–LAC relations, and specific areas of future cooperation.