BIBLIOTECA AVECH
委内瑞拉中国研究会图书馆

From the Venezuelan Association for Chinese Studies (AVECH) 委内瑞拉中国研究会. it is an honor to present the first volume of the Biblioteca AVECH and its Colección Estudios, the fruit of cooperation between our association and the Center for International Politics Research (CIPI, by its acronym in Spanish) in Havana, Cuba. Entitled China y sus Relaciones Internacionales [China and its International Relations] 中国和他的国际关系, a large group of academics and diplomats, mostly Cubans, who are members of institutions such as the Center for International Politics Research (CIPI), the Higher Institute of International Relations (ISRI, by its acronym in Spanish), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Center for International Economics Research (CIEI, by its acronym in Spanish) of the University of Havana, and the Center for World Economy Research, came together under the coordination of Eduardo Regalado Florido (CIPI) and Elda Molina Díaz (CIEI) in a renewed proposal on China's role in 21st-century international relations.

The Venezuelan Association for Chinese Studies (AVECH) 委内瑞拉中国研究会. affiliated with the Center for the Study of Africa, Asia, and Latin American and Caribbean Diasporas "Dr. José Manuel Briceño Monzillo" (CEAA) 非洲，亚洲和拉丁美洲与加勒比地区移民社群的研究中心 at the University of Los Andes (ULA) 委内瑞拉洛斯安第斯大学, and the Center for Chinese Studies (CeChino) 中国研究中心, attached to the Institute of International Relations 国际关系学院 of the National University of La Plata (UNLP) 拉普拉塔国立大学 in Argentina, are pleased to present the book: El Centenario del Partido Comunista de China (1921-2021) [The Centenary of the Communist Party of China (1921–2021)] 中国共产党百年 (1921-2021). This editorial proposal features contributions from nineteen academics and researchers from ten countries: Spain, Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Uruguay, and Venezuela aimed at reflecting on various topics related to the history and performance of the CPC during its first hundred years of existence.

From the Venezuelan Association for Chinese Studies (AVECH) 委内瑞拉中国研究会. affiliated with the Center for the Study of Africa, Asia, and Latin American and Caribbean Diasporas "Dr. José Manuel Briceño Monzillo" (CEAA) 非洲，亚洲和拉丁美洲与加勒比地区移民社群的研究中心 of the University of Los Andes (ULA) 委内瑞拉洛斯安第斯大学  It is an honor to present the work Las relaciones Venezuela-China (1943-1974): Los orígenes [Venezuela–China Relations (1943–1974): The Origins] 委内瑞拉与中国的关系 (1943-1974): 起源 by Ph.D. Norbert Molina Medina, which represents the first of three volumes that will make a substantial contribution to the historiography of Sino-Venezuelan diplomatic relations. This is the most comprehensive study in this specific area of analysis, featuring a meticulous handling of historical sources, statistics, key actors, agreements, and conventions, among other dimensions addressed by the author, leaving no room for the traditional manipulations of successive Venezuelan governments.

The fourth volume we are presenting is titled: Geoeconomía de las relaciones China-ASEAN: Naturaleza, evolución y potenciales efectos. ¿Impactan sobre América Latina? [Geoeconomics of China–ASEAN Relations: Nature, Evolution, and Potential Effects. Do They Impact Latin America?] 中国-东盟关系的地缘经济学：性质、演变和潜在影响。会影响拉丁美洲吗？by the Venezuelan academic, ULA professor, and AVECH member Oscar E. Fernández-Guillén. In his study, the author begins by theoretically contextualizing the research based on the tenets that explain geoeconomics, interdependence, and liberal institutionalism. From there, three other sections detail the context in which ASEAN was created alongside the rise of China, the nature of China–ASEAN relations, and finally, the impacts these ties have had on both regional and extra-regional international politics. Regarding this last aspect, he investigates whether or not these dynamics influence China–Latin America relations, providing a unique added value.

It is common to hear that at the turn of the millennium, China appeared out of nowhere on the Venezuelan and Latin American stages, quickly becoming a leading presence in both. What goes unmentioned is that this would hardly have been possible without prior mutual efforts to bring the two sides closer together, without building the very foundations that enabled the dramatic takeoff of the 2000s. By focusing on this pioneering period, Professor Molina significantly expands our understanding of the evolution of relations with China, providing much-needed context.

With the idea of giving continuity to this project, AVECH, through the Biblioteca AVECH, makes available to the national and international academic community a new work authored by Ph.D. Julio López Saco, entitled Budismo temprano en China: pensamiento, cultura y arte [Early Buddhism in China: Thought, Culture, and Art] 中国早期佛教：思想，文化和艺术. Through eight sections, López Saco introduces us to the early days of Buddhism in China and its influence on thought, culture, and art: 1) Buddhism as a cultural framework; 2) Early Buddhism in China: 1st–5th centuries; 3) Chinese Buddhist art up to the 7th century; 4) Pilgrims and travelers: Fa Xian and his fellow monks; 5) Chinese Buddhist schools during the Tang era; 6) The entry of Buddhism into Imperial Tibet; 7) Early Buddhism in Tibet; and 8) Protective deities, arhats and mystics in Tibetan Buddhism.

López Saco reflects on the origin and formation of Chinese civilization, its early state organization, and political centralization, supported by the contributions of two auxiliary sciences of History: Archaeology and Anthropology, without which it would be impossible to delve into such a complex process. Comprising twelve sections, López Saco begins with the shaping of the concept of national history and civilization, before moving on to the conceptualization and analysis of the Neolithic period and the Bronze Age. He also delves into writing, rituals, myths, art, traditions, and religiosity or supernatural aspects during the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

This new contribution, coordinated by Ph.D. Norbert Molina-Medina, is structured into four main chapters: I. Continuity in Political Dialogue; II. On Economic-Commercial Cooperation; III. Cultural Ties and Exchanges; and IV. The Chinese in Venezuela; with which the authors aim to provide an assessment of these first fifty years across each highlighted aspect and the clearly defined evolutionary periods of relations: 1974–1999 and 1999–2024. Through a rigorous examination of official and specialized sources on each topic, the authors have reconstructed a vision of the process that does not seek to impose absolute truths, but rather to create a space for healthy and responsible discussion, adding another contribution to the body of previously published works.

The Venezuelan Association for Chinese Studies (AVECH) 委内瑞拉中国研究会 is pleased to present a new volume from Colección Estudios of the Biblioteca AVECH 委内瑞拉中国研究会图书馆 entitled: Transformaciones del consumidor urbano en China: Oportunidades para el sector agrícola en América Latina [Transformations of the Urban Consumer in China: Opportunities for the Agricultural Sector in Latin America] 中国城市消费的转型升级：拉丁美洲农业部门的机遇authored by Tatiana Gélvez Rubio, Manuela Barrera Cubides, and Cindy Rozo Romero. Across four sections, the researchers examine urban growth and food consumption habits in China, its trade relations with Latin America and the Caribbean, Sino-Colombian relations—with special emphasis on commercial exchanges—and, finally, analyze the potential of Latin America and Colombia in the Chinese market.

Anales de Primavera y Otoño del Maestro Lü [Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals] 呂氏春秋, comprises a collection of treatises on various cosmological issues from the final stage of the Warring States period, forming part of a court debate on what the imperial state ideology of Qin should be. This monumental work, well-organized and structured, contains passages on a wide variety of topics, such as mythology, music, geography, astronomy, and agriculture, alongside elements of Confucian and Daoist thought, as well as theories unique to the School of Names (Dialecticians), Legalists, Mohists, Agriculturalists, and Yin-Yang thinkers. It also constitutes an outstanding example of Chinese correlative thinking.

From the Center for the Study of Africa and Asia (CEAA) and the Venezuelan Association for Chinese Studies (AVECH) 委内瑞拉中国研究会 of the Universidad de Los Andes (ULA) we have the honor of presenting to you the work: Ensayos sobre el pensamiento de Xi Jinping [Essays on the Thought of Xi Jinping] 习近平思想研究论文集, It has been my privilege to coordinate this volume with a deep sense of belonging and with full awareness of what a collective book represents: a rigorous, plural, critical and reflective approach from Venezuela regarding the doctrinal corpus that underpins contemporary Chinese governance, which is a key effort at this moment to fulfil a duty we owed to the Spanish-speaking reader.

Los estudios chinos en Iberoamérica en el siglo XXI [Chinese Studies in Ibero-America in the 21st Century] 21世纪拉丁美洲的中国研究, demonstrates that another path is possible. We are not talking about a collection of disconnected chapters, but rather an organized dialogue among researchers from different Ibero-American countries, with diverse perspectives and a common purpose: To understand China from here, from our own history and with our own questions. This effort to systematize the work of those who have been studying China will undoubtedly allow us to identify strengths, observe gaps and share theoretical approaches, methodologies and sources with our own voice. This is something we are also deeply committed to from Venezuela.