On April 20, a delegation comprising presidents and vice presidents from 22 Ecuadorian universities, including Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Universidad del Espíritu Santo, and Escuela Politécnica Nacional, visited to China University of Petroleum, Beijing (CUP). The visit was accompanied by a consul from the Embassy of Ecuador in China. Jin Yan, President of CUP, and Zhang Guangqing, Vice President of CUP, received the delegation and engage in discussions on deepening educational cooperation between China and Ecuador and expanding collaboration in the energy sector. Relevant officials from the University's International Office and representatives of Ecuadorian students studying at CUP attended the meeting.

President Jin Yan extended a warm welcome to the Ecuadorian delegation and briefly introduced the University’s basic profile as well as its initiatives and achievements in energy education. He noted that CUP enjoys a solid foundation for cooperation with Ecuador. Since the establishment of the Confucius Institute in partnership with Universidad San Francisco de Quito in 2010, the two sides have cultivated over 20,000 Chinese language learners, and more than 400 Ecuadorian students have received scholarships to study in China. The University has also engaged in collaboration with Ecuadorian enterprises such as Andes Petroleum. In the face of the global wave of energy transition and technological revolution, Jin expressed CUP's readiness to pursue comprehensive cooperation with Ecuadorian higher education institutions under the framework of jointly advancing the Belt and Road Initiative, across areas including joint research, student exchange, and technical training, with the goal of building flagship China–Ecuador educational cooperation programs. Vice President Zhang Guangqing gave a detailed presentation on the University’s cooperation with Ecuador and its international development endeavors.

Diego Quiroga, President of Universidad San Francisco de Quito, expressed gratitude to CUP for the reception. He reviewed the long-standing friendly relations between the two universities and voiced the willingness to carry out practical cooperation with CUP in scientific and technological research as well as student exchange. Tarquino, President of the National Polytechnic University, briefed the delegation on Ecuador’s energy development, analyzed the challenges and opportunities facing the oil and gas industry, and pointed out broad prospects for energy cooperation between the two countries. Cecilia Alexandra Paredes Verduga, head of the delegation and President of Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, hoped to further deepen cooperation with CUP and establish a long-term exchange mechanism to inject new momentum into educational cooperation between China and Ecuador.

During the visit, the delegation also toured the State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Resources and Engineering and the University History Museum of CUP.

The Confucius Institute established by CUP at Universidad San Francisco de Quito is currently the only Confucius Institute in Ecuador. Founded in 2010, it has maintained steady operation and achieved fruitful results, serving as an iconic platform for people-to-people and cultural exchange, language and cultural dissemination, and educational cooperation between China and Ecuador, as well as a vital bridge for cultural exchanges between the two countries.