Deputy Director General of Hanban Mr. Wang Yongli visits Confucius Institute at the University of Sheffield (SCI), UK

On June 11, 2014, Mr. Wang Yongli, Deputy Chief Executive of Confucius Institute Headquarters and Deputy Director General of Hanban, and his delegation visited the Confucius Institute at the University of Sheffield (SCI) in the UK.

Professor Sir Keith Burnett, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, extended warm welcome to Mr. Wang Yongli and his delegation. The two parties conducted extensive and friendly exchanges on issues in the fields of Chinese politics, economy, history and education. Prof. Burnett expressed his heartfelt gratitude towards Hanban for its support to SCI, and praised the contribution and achievements made by SCI in fostering the development of the University, of business, politics and other fields in local communities over the past years.

Professor Sir Keith Burnett, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, welcoming the visit by Mr. Wang Yongli and his delegation

Mr. Wang Yongli listening to the work report given by the British Director of the Institute

Mr. Wang and his delegation also held cordial talks with representatives from political, business and academic circles in Sheffield. Attendees of the meeting were Mr. David Baker, Special Representative of Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Sheffield City Councillor and former Mayor of Sheffield; and his wife Mrs. Jenny Baker, Sheffield City Councillor and Deputy Leader of Liberal Democrats in Sheffield; Mr. Giles Blackburne, Director of the China-Britain Business Council; Mr. Nick Patrick, international trade manager at SYITC (South Yorkshire International Trade Centre, part of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce), Mr. Chris Wright, Principal of Eckington School with a Confucius Classroom affiliated to SCI, and Mr. Pan Jun, Vice-Consul of Education Section of Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Manchester. All parties at the meeting exchanged their views sincerely. They extended their gratitude to Hanban and commended the contribution made by SCI in central and north England. They also expressed their confidence in further development of people-to-people exchanges and bilateral ties between China and the UK.

After the meeting, accompanied by Dr. Lucy Xia Zhao, British Director of SCI, and Associate Prof. Tian Ran, Chinese Director of SCI, Mr. Wang and his delegation visited the office building of SCI. Mr. Wang made a detailed inquiry about the functioning and space utilization of the building and suggested making full use of any possible space. Later, he listened to the work report given by Dr. Lucy, which presented the major work done by SCI to promote Chinese language and culture in local circles of schools (primary, secondary schools and universities), politics, business and communities. Also, in her report, Dr. Lucy introduced SCI’s plan to become a research-oriented comprehensive Confucius Institute and its strategies to benefit from the research done by the School of East Asian Studies and White Rose East Asia Centre to conduct the Confucius China Studies Program and research into teaching Chinese as a foreign language. Mr. Wang highly appreciated SCI’s achievements in popularizing Chinese language and culture and its growing influence in local communities. At the same time, he expressed his wishes that SCI would continue its efforts in making greater contribution to the popularization of Chinese language and culture.

Mr. Wang and his delegation holding cordial talks with Chinese teachers at SCI

Mr. Wang joining the staff and teachers of SCI in taking a group photo

Mr. Wang also met with some of the Chinese teachers at SCI. On behalf of Hanban, he extended his best regards and heartfelt gratitude to the teachers who worked wholeheartedly in Chinese language teaching. He also asked every teacher about their work and life at SCI. Then, he further elaborated the positive role that Confucius Institutes play in the development of China today and the responsibility of every teacher. Therefore, he encouraged all teachers to utilize the advantageous resources in local communities while participating in more Chinese teacher training programs and improving their own professional competence.