With a population of close to 100 million and with Spanish, Portuguese and English as official languages for many of the 34 countries in Latin America, there is a strong association of trades as well as cultural exchanges with China. They also are important potential partners for the national “Road & Belt” initiative.

The MCRLA would help MUST in its research on Latin American countries. UIC could contribute greatly with its strong linguistic resources in Spanish, Portuguese, English, and Chinese in the areas of language education, academic research, and outreach services.

Coverage of Activities at MCRLA

• Language teaching (research on teaching Chinese as a foreign language in institutions of higher education in Latin American countries, teaching of Spanish and Portuguese and curriculum design in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and research on Chinese language teaching development in Latin America;

• Exchanges in those areas of studies aforementioned between Latin American countries and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area;

• Language teaching and learning for specific purposes (i.e., business Spanish, Portuguese, English, or Chinese) for business, companies, and trade activities between Latin American countries and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area;

• Research on language teaching, language use, and language and culture;

• Issues on relationships between China and Latin American countries (research in collaboration with the Institute for Social and Cultural Research/MUST)

• Analyses of data collected concerning those issues aforementioned to be included in the annual Bluebook.