The Jilin Provincial Tourism Association inks a strategic agreement with the Spanish Travel Agencies Association at the trade and culture promotion event in Spain on April 10. [Photo provided to gojilin.gov.cn]

On April 10, Northeast China's Jilin province held a trade and culture promotion event in Madrid, Spain, highlighting its growing global outreach. Distinguished guests included Liu Shijun, executive director of the UN World Tourism Organization, and Qu Xun, minister of the Chinese embassy in Spain.

The event coincided with the 20th anniversary of the China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership and the 50th anniversary of China-EU diplomatic relations.

Ramón Calduch, executive chairman of the China Knowledge Forum, and Pilar Jimenez Gomez, CEO of Mediapro Group Asia-Pacific, attended the event. They shared their expectations for cultural exchange, smart tourism, and heritage preservation collaboration between Jilin and Spain and expressed a desire to build stronger mutual understanding through cultural platforms.

The nongyue dance, a traditional dance of the Korean ethnic group. [Photo provided to gojilin.gov.cn]

Attendees were treated to a series of captivating performances, including the Mongolian white horse dance and the nongyue dance, a traditional dance of the Korean ethnic group – an expressive tradition celebrating agricultural rituals and the harvest. It was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.

The event saw several important partnerships formalized. Examples include a signed agreement between the Jilin Provincial People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Spain-China Friendship Association, a memorandum of cooperation between Jilin Northeast Asia Publishing and Media Group and Dazhong Publishing, and a strategic agreement between the Jilin Provincial Tourism Association and the Spanish Travel Agencies Association.

Guests listen attentively at the event. [Photo provided to gojilin.gov.cn]

Jilin officials also visited Catalonia's bureaus of trade and investment, cultural heritage and tourism, audiovisual clusters, and the Cervantes Institute. These visits aimed to promote cooperation in cultural technology, digital film, tourism, language and culture, business, education, and sports, further deepening China-Spain exchange and mutual benefit.

The event marked a new chapter in Jilin's international engagement, blending cultural exchange with practical cooperation in tourism, publishing, and people-to-people diplomacy.