From May 15^th to 20^th, Executive Vice Chairman of the University Council, ZHANG Jianming, lead an academic delegation to visit Romania and Belgium. The main events occasioning the visit were the opening ceremony of the Joint China-Romania Academic Publishing Center and the launch of the Confucius Institute at the Dutch-speaking Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). On March 17^th, the RUC delegation joined the launch of the publishing center, held at the Romanian Cultural Institute in Bucharest. The Joint China-Romania Academic Publishing Center is the first joint project of its kind between China and Romania. Vice President ZHANG was invited to give a speech during which he offered a brief overview of the history of Renmin University of China Press, which has increasingly promoted international cooperation and exchange in recent years. ZHANG is hopeful with regard to the new possibilities the academic publishing center will open for both sides. On the one hand, it will allow Chinese academic writers to have their works translated and reach a new Eastern European audience; on the other hand, the center will vigorously promote the publication of scholarly works by Romanian authors in China, opening a new academic market for them. On May 18th, the delegation joined the opening ceremony of the thirteenth Confucius Institute co-established by Renmin University of China at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). This institute was jointly established between VUB, Renmin University of China, and Sichuan University.