Both sides sign an agreement to establish a China Studies Center. Photo: Zhu Gaolei/CSSN

On May 30, Gao Xiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), met in Beijing with Alberto Barbieri, rector of the University of Buenos Aires, and his delegation.

Gao Xiang extended a warm welcome to the guests, noting that CASS is China’s premier academic organization and comprehensive research center in the fields of philosophy and social sciences. He praised the University of Buenos Aires as a prestigious institution of higher education in Argentina and the broader Latin American region. Strengthening cooperation between the two institutions, he said, would help promote mutual understanding between Chinese and Argentine intellectual communities and help lay a stronger foundation for people-to-people friendship between the two countries.

He stressed that CASS looks to collaborate with the university in areas such as exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, scientific and technological innovation, artificial intelligence, the digital economy, and ecological and environmental protection. Gao proposed expanding academic exchanges, co-hosting seminars, jointly releasing high-quality research findings, and supporting the dissemination of scholarly work in Argentina and throughout Latin America, with the aim of contributing intellectual support to the long-term, stable development of the China-Argentina comprehensive strategic partnership.

Barbieri spoke highly of China’s achievements in economic and social development and fully endorsed the proposed areas of cooperation. He acknowledged that academic research on China remains limited in Argentina and the broader Latin American region, highlighting the significant potential for scholarly exchange. The University of Buenos Aires, he said, attaches great importance to its cooperative relationship with CASS and is committed to helping Argentina and other Latin American countries better understand China, thereby supporting the high-quality development of Latin America-China relations.

Following the meeting, the two institutions signed an agreement to establish a China Studies Center.