China's prestigious Tsinghua University on Wednesday acknowledged that negligence had allowed the school's president to meet with Oliver Rothschild, only to find out later that the man was a con artist. 

"There was negligence in terms of screening [our visitors]. However, I have no doubt of our president's good intention, that he wishes to make Tsinghua University better - or any Chinese university in general - through broad social resources and support," Tsinghua University Vice President Yang Bin told the China News Service on Wednesday. 

Yang also noted that the school will strengthen background checks of future donors. 

According to a previous statement posted on the website of Tsinghua University, the president of the school met with Oliver Rothschild on February 1. The statement described Rothschild as "a core member of the prominent Rothschild family, a global financial investor, an entrepreneurial strategist and a philanthropist." 

It went on to say that Rothschild had made a number of visits to China, during which "he met with many high-profile Chinese entrepreneurs and government officials."

However, Rothschild's true identity was uncovered by a report by the Economic Observer. A representative of the UK branch of the Rothschild Group wrote to the newspaper that Oliver Rothschild is not a member of the Rothschild family and that he is not involved in any of the family's businesses.