china

Catalan Labor, Social Affairs and Families minister meets with China's consul general in Barcelona

Barcelona and Hong Kong demonstrations of support take place simultaneously

New study finds that 75% of Catalan AI companies are small businesses together employing over 8,000 people

World's major supplier of plasma products aims to fund new plants, while consolidating its place in Chinese market

Traditional procession in the Catalan capital ushers in Chinese New Year, which begins on Tuesday

Chinese artist and dissident says it’s "ironic that there are political prisoners in today’s Europe"

Around 60,000 people from the most populated country in the world live in Catalonia, including 20,000 in the capital

The Vice Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of China met with European Parliament representatives in Strasbourg

European Commission spokesman reiterates support in Brussels for “the constitutional and legal arrangements of Spain”

EC spokesman refuses to link these measures to freedom of speech violations, rejecting comparisons "to Turkey"

The first plane connecting Shanghai and Barcelona landed at El Prat airport on Friday at 08:05am. The route, operated by Air China, is offered all year round, three days a week: Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The plane, an Airbus 330-200, has capacity for up to 239 tourist class ticket holders and 16 business class ticket holders. On its first trip, the plane had an 86% occupancy rate. The round trip from Barcelona to China departed from the Catalan capital at 12:30pm with an occupancy rate of 88%. All flights for the weekend are already fully booked. Òscar Olive, Airports of Catalonia's commercial director, praised Air China for “having been able to recognize” the “clear demand” for direct connections between Barcelona and Asia. The airline has offered a direct link between the Catalan capital and Beijing since 2014.

The initiative will set up Catalonia as a point of reference in Europe regarding this kind of medicine. The agreement between the Catalan government and a consortium led by the Beijing government also includes actions in the fields of higher education, research, health and culture. For example, an official master’s degree in Chinese traditional medicine will be taught in collaboration with two Catalan universities, the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), and alongside with Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. The project has been promoted by the Catalan Ministry for Business and Knowledge, through the area which focuses on attracting foreign investment, ACCIÓ – Catalonia Trade & Investment, and the Secretary for Universities and Research.

Catalan Minister for Agriculture Jordi Ciuraneta claimed that Spanish diplomacy “obstructed”the commercial mission to China of twenty Catalan companies from the meat, fish and citrus fruit sectors. According to Ciuraneta, Spain’s embassy interfered to “cancel”two important meetings between Catalan businessmen, representatives from the Catalan government and several Chinese organisations responsible for authorising the Catalan companies’exports, scheduled for this Wednesday. Ciuraneta considered it “institutional aggression”that “damages”the Catalan companies who travelled to China and their commercial mission. Catalan liberal party CDC MEP Ramon Tremosa stated that Spain’s executive “contradicts the European policies regarding the opening of new markets”and asked the European Commission to investigate what he described as “Spain’s diplomacy boycott”.

‘Barcelona Catalonia Culture Week’, the first Catalan cultural week organised in Shanghai awoke the interest of 73,000 people. Coinciding with the 10^th anniversary of the Catalan Society ‘Casal Català de Xangai’ and 15 years since the twinning of Barcelona and Shanghai, China’s financial capital hosted more than 30 activities to present Catalonia’s cultural heritage to the local audience. International icons such as surrealist painter Salvador Dalíand architect Antoni Gaudíwere the centre of some of the art exhibitions. Another key point of the programme was the participation of ‘Castellers de Vilafranca’, whom displayed Catalan human towers all around the city. “This initiative introduces Catalonia to China’s collective imagination”stated the Catalan Institute of China’s President, Alexis Roig, and is the result of “a joint effort from civil society, companies and the Catalan institutions”. 

“The EC does not comment on regional elections” stated EC spokesperson Margaritis Schinas. He added that the EC won’t express “a position” regarding the 27-S results in Catalonia, which it considers “a domestic issue for Spain”.The EC spokesperson confirmed that EC President Jean-Claude Juncker “was informed” of the election results but that he “didn’t have any immediate contact” to evaluate them with the Spanish nor the Catalan governments. “I have nothing else to say” stated Schinas, who denied any consideration of whether the EU should promote dialogue between Madrid and Barcelona. However, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Anne Brasseur, stated at a press conference that “the vote of the people of Catalonia must be respected” and added that “there must be dialogue from both sides”.