She is then travelling to address an invited audience at The University of Oxford. Sir Keith is a longstanding advocate of partnerships between the UK and China and was awarded a personal honour by Vice-Premier Liu Yandong in China in 2016 for his work to promote the understanding of Chinese language and culture. He is also the Chair of the award-winning Sheffield Confucius Institute which works with local schools and companies keen to develop business relationships in China.
Sir Keith said: "It was a genuine honour to welcome the Vice-Premier of China and the Chinese delegation on this important visit to the UK and to represent universities here in Britain which have become temporary homes to many Chinese students.
"I was glad to taking this opportunity to expressing our thanks for the tremendous investment and vitality these young people bring to our universities and cities, and for the sacrifices made by their families to allow their children to study overseas.
“I also shared with Vice-Premier Liu Yandong our desire to work closely with scholars in China who are working with us on the crucial challenges of the future - sustainable cities, economic prosperity, food security and health."
Sir Keith is a Chinese speaker who has visited China on many occasions to build relationships with Chinese universities and industry, both on behalf of the university and with UK government delegations. The University of Sheffield is home to 3,419 Chinese students and there are 12,368 University of Sheffield graduates in China.
Chinese research partnerships include work on health, semiconductor technologies and advanced manufacturing, including on the Chinese space programme.
谢菲尔德大学校长在刘延东副总理访英活动中发言
中国副总理刘延东近日受邀对英国商业、能源和工业战略部及世界上历史最悠久的独立科学学会-皇家学会进行访问，并将在牛津大学发表演讲。
英国皇家学会会员、谢菲尔德大学校长凯思·博内特爵士今日获邀参加在伦敦举办的刘延东副总理访英系列活动“中英友好人士座谈会”，并在座谈会上发言。
凯思爵士说：
“在刘延东副总理和中国代表团对英国进行重要访问的时刻，受邀作为英国大学的代表进行发言，是我极大的荣幸。英国的很多大学已经成为中国留学生们的家。”
“我希望藉此机会能向那些为我们大学和城市带来巨大投资和发展活力的年轻人表示感谢，同时也对他们的父母为支持子女在海外留学而所作出的辛苦付出表示感谢。我还想向刘延东副总理表达我们愿与中国学者在面对诸如：城市可持续发展、经济繁荣、食品安全和医疗健康等未来重大挑战方面进行紧密合作的意愿。”
凯思爵士能够较熟练运用中文，他曾代表大学和英国政府代表团多次在重要时机访问中国，与中国大学和工业界都建立了良好的合作关系。谢菲尔德大学目前有3419名中国留学生，有12368名中国校友。双方的学术交流和合作研究主要包括医疗健康、半导体技术、涉及中国太空项目的先进制造等领域。
凯思爵士还是屡获殊荣的谢菲尔德大学孔子学院理事会主席，历来支持中英两国发展良好伙伴关系，并于2016年荣获了由刘延东副总理颁发的“先进个人”奖，以表彰其对汉语和中国文化传播事业所做出的杰出贡献。谢菲尔德大学孔子学院积极与当地学校合作，并致力于发展当地公司与中国的商务合作关系。