From April 27 to May 3, Vice President Yang Bin led a delegation to visit the UK and Turkey.

In the UK, Yang paid a visit to Newcastle University (NCL) where the 2019 Confucius Institute NCL Council Meeting was held. He exchanged views on the international promotion of Chinese language and the localization and development of the Confucius Institute with Professor Richard Davies, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Engagement and Internationalization), NCL and the Council Chairman of the Confucius Institute at NCL. He also met with the Chinese language teachers and volunteers at the Confucius Institute, listening to the difficulties and challenges in their work and encouraging them to explore new approaches to better serve the internationalization work of Chinese.

The second stop of Yang's visit in the UK was the University of Hull. There heattended the 10th Council of President (COP) Global U8 Consortium Meeting and gave opening remark on behalf of President Zhang Rong, the current Chair of GU8.In his speech, Yang urged all members to identify several key partner universities and colleges and cooperative areas, and  encouraged teachers across member institutions to conduct scientific research together and co-publish papers. he also wished more student exchange activities as a way to promote all-rounded cooperation among members. The Secretariat-General delivered a report on the overall situation of the Consortium. The meeting also reviewed the progress reports of the Joint Research Committee and Education Committee and the financial report of the Consortium, approving the design planning of the new GU8 website. Besides, representative appointed Chancellor of University of Hull as the new Chair of the COP and it was agreed that the 11the COP GU8 Consortium Meeting will be held at Xiamen University during its centennial anniversary in 2021.

In Turkey, the first stop was Koc University, a first-class research-intensive comprehensive university established in 1993 in Turkey. Yang met with Professor Dr İrşadi Aksun, the Vice President of Koc University, Burcu Sarsılmaz, the Director of International Office of Koc University, Melissa Abache, the Director of International Student Recruitment Office of Koc University and Burak Gürel, the Director of Asia Research Center. Both sides reached agreements on strengthening cooperation in student and staff exchange, joint research and so on.  

The second stop was Bogazici University, which was formerly known as Robert College, founded in 1863. It is a current member of the European University Association and one of the most well-known universities in Turkey. Both sides had an in-depth discussion on co-organizing academic conferences, promoting mutual human exchange, establishing the China-Turkey University Consortium.

The third one was Istanbul Technical University, a first-class research-intensive university established in 1773 and specialized in engineering, chemistry, physics and mathematics science. Both sides exchanges opinions on the possibility of sharing equipment resources, building silk road economic cooperation and signing a memorandum of understanding. Yang was also invited to visit the university's Entrepreneurship and Incubation Center to learn more about it.

Besides the above, Yang visited the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Istanbul and exchanged views with Cui Wei, the Consul General of the Consulate General on issues including the construction of the Confucius Institute and the Belt and Road Initiative. He also communicated with the staff of Yunus Emre Institute, a Turkish language promotion agency on the cooperation in culture, technology and science between China and Turkey.