The event, organised by the ESADE Students’ Chinese Association, featured the participation of Lin Nan, Consul-General of the People’s Republic of China in Barcelona, and Eugenia Bieto, Director General of ESADE.

ESADE once again celebrated the Chinese New Year on its Sant Cugat campus, this time to ring in the Year of the Dog, an animal that symbolises luck in Chinese culture. Attendees had the chance to experience several performances inspired by Chinese traditions, including a lion dance and a kung fu ceremony. Various workshops also offered an up-close look at Chinese culture.

In attendance were Josep Franch, Dean of ESADE Business School; Carlo Gallucci, Vice Rector of International Relations and Students at Ramon Llull University; Shiru Chang, Director of the Confucius Institute of Barcelona; Javier Orduña, Director of the Confucius Institute of Barcelona; and Esther Salat, Sant Cugat City Councillor for Education, Universities, Family and Human Resources, among other dignitaries.

The celebration was also attended by representatives of the ESADE China Europe Club’s collaborating entities, including executives from Catalonia Trade & Investment (Acció) and the leaders of several large Chinese firms (Keeway Motors, OminxHealth China, CCB, Air China, Clint Energy and others).

Academic alliances between ESADE and China

Fostering relations with China is a high-priority element of ESADE’s internationalisation strategy. At present, 123 Chinese students are enrolled in the various programmes offered by ESADE Business School. One such programme, the MSc in Global Strategic Management, was created as a result of an alliance between ESADE, Lingnan (University) College at Sun Yat-sen University (China) and the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia (USA). This master’s programme explores the complexities of the global business environment from the North American, European and Asian perspectives.

ESADE Business & Law School has student exchange agreements with various Chinese universities, including recent agreements reached with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Peking University Law School. ESADE has sought to increase its number of Chinese partners in response to its students’ demands and their interest in the country, as well as the school’s commitment to internationalisation in the Eastern world.

Analysis of the Chinese economy

ESADE has been working for years to develop business relations between Chinese companies established in Europe and Western companies with interests in China. On several occasions throughout the year, ESADE provides venues for debate and reflection featuring high-profile figures from China and experts on the country’s economy.

ESADE recently published the 2018 ESADE Economic Report, directed by Prof. David Vegara. The report analyses the positive effects of the change in China’s economic model and predicts that the prospects for the Chinese economy will be very positive in 2018.