China's Ambassador to UK since 2009, Liu Xiaoming, received a Doctor of Laws on September 6, 2017, in recognition of his contribution to Sino-UK relations and his support for the university's endeavors to contribute to education in China. David Greenaway, Vice Chancellor of the University of Nottingham, said "We wanted to recognize Ambassador Liu's achievements in promoting education cooperation between our two countries, but also helping us to build links in China." A plaque was also unveiled marking the Nottingham Confucius Institute as a model Confucius Institute. The Nottingham Confucius Institute, established jointly by the University of Nottingham and Fudan University in 2007, has taught Mandarin to more than 7,000 university students. The University of Nottingham opened its Ningbo campus in China's Zhejiang province in 2004.