Spain expects to join forces with China to promote an initiative
that calls for more understanding among different cultures, Spanish
foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, said in Shanghai
yesterday.
Spain initiated the "Alliance of Civilization" at a UN
conference in September 2004.
"As an important and large country with a long history, China
should not be absent from the alliance," the minister said during
the third session of the two-day Spain-China Forum, which ends
today.
"China should play an active role in the alliance," said
Moratinos. He added that details of how China could become involved
would be discussed today during his meeting with Foreign Minister
Li
Zhaoxing.
President Hu Jintao
endorsed the initiative during his visit to Spain last year.
Moratinos said Spain has proposed China assign a representative
to the alliance-related high-level team in the UN.
"For special geograpical and historical reasons Spain is
sensitive about different cultures," Moratinos said. "We are
concerned about the current misunderstanding among cultures."
Prince Felipe de Borbon will visit China in July. Among a number
of planned cultural activities the prince will open Cervantes, a
language and cultural institute, in Beijing, Moratinos said. A
similar institute is to open in Shanghai in the near future.
In turn, an institute bearing the name of the Chinese sage
Confucius would open in Spain soon, Moratinos said.
"It's the right time to share our cultural and historical
experiences since a large number of Spanish students and
businessmen have come to China," he said.
The two countries have designated next year as the "Year of
Spain" in China, which Moratinos said would lift the
bilateral relations to a new height.
(China Daily March 22, 2006)