My morning with the President of China

On Wednesday, Imperial was honoured to welcome President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China. The trip to the College was part of a four day visit to the UK, which was the first state visit by a Chinese leader in ten years. In addition to visiting Imperial, the President also met with Prime Minister, David Cameron in an extremely important meeting regarding the building of a new power plant at Hinkley Point, Somerset. Whilst in the UK he is a guest of the Queen, residing at Buckingham Palace.

Imperial and China have very strong connections, which is why the President and the Chinese Embassy were so keen for the visit to happen. In addition to the amazing Chinese student population at Imperial, there are also many Chinese researchers working in the College, and Imperial collaborates with Chinese partners working on cutting edge research. The key focus of the visit was the announcement of a series of new Imperial-China education and research collaborations, which will benefit both Chinese students wanting to come to Imperial who will now have access to more scholarships, and the research community in terms of funding for Imperial PhD students to study in China and research grants.

The President and the First Lady, Madam Peng, were greeted upon their arrival to the College by His Royal Highness the Duke of York, who then introduced them to Imperial’s President Alice Gast, Provost James Stirling, and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. They were also presented with flowers by Union President Lucinda Sandom-Allum, and GSU President Luicheng Guo.

Alice Gast then welcomed the President and the First Lady to Imperial with a short speech, highlighting strong links between Imperial and China, and the benefits to both parties. She hoped Imperial could become “China’s best academic partner in the West”.

Following the speech, the President and the rest of the delegation were given a tour of some of the research that really highlights the College’s relationship with China. Firstly, he visited the Data Science Institute, which is directed by Professor Yike Guo, and the Hamlyn Institute, directed by Professor Guang-Zhong Yang. Both of these institutes will benefit from a new £3 million grant by the China UCF group to fund research. On the tour he was presented with examples of research from both institutions, including a data-driven analysis of the political and social impact of China’s “One Belt, One Road” policy, and technological innovations in medical robotics that have revolutionised healthcare.

Finally, President Xi met some students of the College, and exchanged a few words with each of them. This gave him the opportunity to ask what life was like at Imperial, both in terms of academics and activities outside the classroom, including College funded expeditions and heading the Student Union.

It was a huge honour to shake hands with the President!