President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China visited Imperial this week and took a tour of the Hamlyn Centre.

The President and First Lady Madame Peng Liyuan were joined by the Duke of York Prince Andrew, the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, Commercial Secretary to the Treasury Lord O’Neill, and several senior Chinese ministers.

They were welcomed to Imperial, the UK’s number one research partner with China, by Imperial’s President, Professor Alice Gast and the Provost, Professor James Stirling.

Professor Gast explained how Imperial experts and their Chinese partners are working together on cutting-edge research in fields including nanotechnology, robotics, bioengineering, computing, advanced materials, environmental engineering and public health.

Professor Yang showcasing our robotics

At IGHI's Hamlyn Centre, its Director, Professor Guang-Zhong Yang, showed how Imperial’s innovations in medical robotics have facilitated the development of smaller, cheaper robots that enable healthcare professionals to conduct operations with unprecedented precision at low cost.

President Xi, the Duke of York and the Chancellor interacted with the latest medical robots, including a snake robot for ultra-flexible use in surgery. Professor Yang also demonstrated how smart instruments with integrated imaging and sensing are being developed at Imperial for use in robotic micro-surgery.

President Xi interacting with the robots

During the visit, the China UCF Group also announced that it will donate £3 million to support research at the Hamlyn Centre and also Imperial’s Data Science Institute. 

President Xi’s visit was Imperial’s third state visit within three years, following President Park Geun-hye of Korea’s visit in 2013 and President Tony Tan of Singapore’s in 2014.

President Gast addressed the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, saying “Chancellor, you have said that you aim to make the UK 'China’s best partner in the west'. Imperial College London strives to be just that, China’s best academic partner in the west.”

More details about the visit can be found here.

To find out more about the Institute of Global Health Innovation's Hamlyn Centre for Surgical Robotics, visit their website.