Following last night’s immensely successful Chinese State Banquet, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Andrew, spent time with the President Xi today, for two separate visits.
The Duke of York accompanied the Chinese Head of State to Imperial College London, along with George Osborne, Chancellor.
The Duke and President Xi at ICL, listening to Professor Gast’s speech. (via @TheDukeofYork)
A typically British day, the party needed umbrellas, as the party toured the university. Prince Andrew already supports numerous causes for technology education and careers for young people, and so were shown some of the projects they were working on, in areas include nanotechnology, bioengineering, and how medics are partnering with computer scientists.
Imperial is the UK’s number one research partner with China, with 22% (almost one quarter) of papers published having a Chinese co-author this year.
Professor Alice Gast, Imperial’s President, said: “UK-China relationships are increasingly important and increasingly beneficial to both countries. British universities have been instrumental in building and strengthening these relationships. Academics are enthusiastic diplomats, productive collaborators and ideally placed to benefit from our exchanges and partnerships with Chinese universities.”
Lancaster House was the next destination for the President and his wife, to meet William and Catherine. This was for celebration of the cultural collaboration between the UK and China.
In the courtyard, the quartet began their engagement by viewing a black cab, London red bus and an Aston Martin. This is because of the new contracts British and Chinese companies have made:
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with the President of China Xi ÊJinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at Lancaster House in London on the second day of their State Visit. Picture by Stephen Lock / i-Images
Aston Martin will develop its zero-emission RapidE sports car with China Equity, London Taxi Company owner Geely, a Chinese business, has also announced a further £50 million investment to enhance their research and launch a new zero emission-capable fleet of black cabs, and bus builder Alexander Dennis Limited will work with BYD to build 200 new and technology savvy buses over the next decade.
Catherine, in a plum lace high-necked dress from Dolce & Gabbana, walked with Madame Peng, while the Duke chatted with the President.
Inside, actors from BBC hit Poldark, Lego people and Doctor Who’s Daleks featured. The Royal and Presidential party spoke with Karate master and actor, Jackie Chan. They posed for a photo, before moving to chat with more guests.
Posing for a photo with Jackie Chan #ChinaStateVisit pic.twitter.com/Mq2yNrNtyP
— Victoria Murphy (@QueenVicMirror) October 21, 2015
A brief performance of Roahl Dahl’s Matilda was seen, along with a dance and singing presentation for the VIPs. Then Prince William presented Mr Jinping with a specially commissioned piece of artwork from BAFTA.
William and Catherine then waved the Chinese couple off from Lancaster House.
