On the afternoon of May 13, Vice President Chen Jun met with Anthea Heffernan, Counselor for Regional Cooperation at the British Embassy in China and her delegation at the Haibing Center, Balitai Campus, Nankai University.

Chen Jun extended his appreciation to the British Embassy in China for its longstanding support of Nankai University and warmly welcomed Ms. Heffernan, an alumna of Nankai, back to her alma mater. He reviewed the university’s history and its collaborations with British universities, noting that the university has established all-round, wide-ranging, multi-tiered partnerships with over 20 British universities, including the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of Glasgow, University of Birmingham, and University of Leeds. These partnerships have fostered robust cooperation in areas such as talent cultivation and scientific research innovation. Chen Jun expressed hope for expanding ties with more British institutions in the future to open a new chapter of cooperation in joint research on frontier topics, the cultivation of high-level talent, and sustained cultural exchange.

Ms. Heffernan expressed her sincere gratitude for the warm reception from Nankai University, and said that she was delighted to return to the campus after 40 years. She commended the fruitful cooperation between Nankai University and British universities in areas such as talent cultivation and scientific research. She stressed the enormous potential for collaboration between higher education institutions in China and the UK and noted that this visit was intended to enhance mutual understanding and serve as an opportunity to deepen cooperation between Nankai University and more British institutions. She also encouraged increased exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and British youth to further promote UK-China people-to-people exchanges.

Following the meeting, Ms. Heffernan and her delegation held discussions with experts and scholars from the Zhou Enlai School of Government, School of Economics, Business School, and the College of Economic and Social Development. The discussions covered topics such as the connotation and characteristics of Chinese path to modernization and China-Europe relations in the current international context.

（Edited and translated by Nankai News Team.)