On April 27, Dr. L. Rafael Reif, President of MIT, paid a visit to Wanxiang Minsheng Building during his stay in Beijing at invitation. Lu Weiding, President and CEO of Wanxiang Group and President L. Rafael Reif held a luncheon party and made amiable and friendly discussion on joint efforts to establish an institute for advanced study in Hangzhou Wanxiang Innovation & Energy-gathering City. Detailed introduction was made to Wanxiang Innovation & Energy-gathering City and the core position of its construction. 

Lu Weiding extended his congratulations to President L. Rafael Reif for his being conferral of the academician title of Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), and he expressed his satisfaction that Wanxiang and MIT had made several rounds of discussion on the establishment of an institute for advanced study  since May 2017, including MIT academic dean's visit to Wanxiang Building in Shanghai in January this year, the fruitful cooperation kickoff seminar held by the delegation of high-caliber professors from MIT and Wanxiang in Hangzhou in March this year, and also the conclusion of the Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Cooperation and Framework Agreement; also he appreciated the President's support. 

President L. Rafael Reif extended his thanks to President Lu for his considerate reception and also conveyed thanks from the delegation of MIT professors in March during their visit to Hangzhou Wanxiang. President L. Rafael Reif expressed his interest in the mysterious China since his juvenile years and also in China's dramatic development since its reform and opening-up in the late 1970s. Lu Weiding made a brief introduction to the economic development of China's Greater Bay Area, the role and significance of Wanxiang Innovation & Energy-gathering City in the construction of Greater Bay Area in Zhejiang and also the idea on Wanxiang International Advanced Application & Science & Technology Base. President L. Rafael Reif was greatly honored for the core position of MIT and Wanxiang in the ongoing cooperation of International Advanced Application & Science & Technology Base and expressed the great attention of MIT paid to the cooperation with Wanxiang and intention to make further exploration in the next stage following the spirit of mutual trust and benefits. Lu Weiding also made vivid and enlightening introduction to Wanxiang Group's development course since the 1960s, making a refreshing impression on those from MIT. 

President L. Rafael Reif expressed high admiration to the legendary life of President Lu and gained deeper understanding on Wanxiang's innovative, breakthrough and pioneering genes. He also mentioned that the important strategic cooperation with Wanxiang for development of MIT in China was fundamentally attributable to Wanxiang's these genes. President L. Rafael Reif also suggested Lu Weiding to considering publishing works concerning the legendary development of Wanxiang in English and other foreign languages to present a more vivid and enlightening Chinese story to narrow down the cultural distance. 

Since 2012, President L. Rafael Reif has been been the 17th President of MIT and he is an internationally well-known expert in nanotechnology and academician of both The National Academy of Electronic Engineering of the US and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. At the end of 2017, he was promoted, together with 17 globally famous scientific and technological innovation leaders including Bill Gates, as foreign academicians of CAE. Another important purpose that President L. Rafael Reif made this visit is to accept the honorary title of foreign academician of CAE.