The Beijing Foreign Studies University Department of Spanish and Portuguese has become the Beijing Foreign Studies University Faculty of Spanish and Portuguese, the People’s Daily reports.

The Chinese Communist Party newspaper quotes Beijing Foreign Studies University Vice-president Yan Guohua as saying the change is an important part of the reform of education at the university, in tandem with the opening of China to the outside world and the greater status of China internationally.

The report quotes the head of the faculty, Liu Jian, as saying it will comprise the Latin America Research Centre, the Mexican Studies Research Centre, the Spanish Studies Research Centre and the Beijing Foreign Studies University-Lisbon University Instituto Camões Portuguese Language and Culture Centre, and that it will put out an academic publication on the languages and cultures of Spain and Portugal.

In the past six decades the Beijing Foreign Studies University has helped China turn out 3,000 specialists in Spanish or Portuguese or both, who have contributed to the social and economic development of their country, the People’s Daily says.