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China presents top awards to outstanding scientists

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-09 10:48

Wang Zhongcheng, member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the Neurosurgery Science Institute of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. [people.com.cn]

Xu Guangxian (right), academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former president of the Chinese Chemical Society. [people.com.cn]

China's 2008 State Top Scientific and Technological Awards on Friday went to neurologist Wang Zhongcheng and chemist Xu Guangxian for their outstanding contributions to technological innovation.

President Hu Jintao presented the two 5-million-yuan ($730,000) awards to the scientists at the Great Hall of the People.

Premier Wen Jiabao said in a keynote speech that scientific and technological strength decided the country's destiny and its modernization would depend on the development of science and technology.

Wen said knowledge and technology were important factors in sustainable development, especially during the present global financial crisis.

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He urged science and technology workers to help businesses and rural areas to speed up development and become productive. They should help improve management, develop new products and technologies, and actively involve themselves in economic development.

Wang Zhongcheng, 83, a native of east China's Shandong Province, is a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the Neurosurgery Science Institute of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Xu Guangxian, 89, a native of east China's Zhejiang Province, is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former president of the Chinese Chemical Society.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway project received a State Special Award for Scientific and Technological Progress. The Experimental Advanced Super-conducting Tokamak (EAST) nuclear fusion reactor project and 25 other scientific achievements shared the first prize for scientific and technological progress.

The ceremony was jointly held by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council.