On 1st November, 2019, in the context of strengthening cultural and design exchange and cooperation between Shenzhen and Barcelona, UPDIS signed a "Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in Professional Fields" with Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC, Spanish partner for education, training, and academic exchange) and Guallart Architects (Spanish partner for project collaboration).

The signing ceremony was attended by Sima Xiao, Party Secretary and President of UPDIS, Huang Weidong, Deputy Party Secretary and Deputy General Manager, Ma Li, Director of the Party and Human Resources Department, Mu Shaohui, Director of the Urban Design Collaborative Department, and Tang Saiwen, Principal Engineer, as well as Vicente Guallart, former Chief Architect of Barcelona, founder of IAAC and President of Guallart Architects, and Yang Lei, General Manager for China at Guallart Architects.

This signing marks the successful establishment of a stable strategic partnership. In the future, all parties will complement each other’s strengths and pursue mutually beneficial cooperation in urban planning and design, architectural design, environmental protection, smart cities, and other fields. This will include joint education and training, academic and project collaborations.