On September 29, Chinese premier Li Keqiang met with the 50 foreign experts at this year’s Friendship Award ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.  Joergen Clausen, chair of Danfoss, and Professor Torben Mogensen from the University of Copenhagen are among them.

More foreign talents for China
Premier Li spoke highly of the important contributions made by foreign experts to promote China’s economic and social development as well as exchanges between China and foreign countries, saying that China welcomes more foreign experts to play a bigger role in the country’s innovative development.

Li also expressed his hope that domestic and foreign talents would work closer together to promote innovation and progress in world science, technology and civilization, as well as a healthy development of economic globalization.

He added that China will continue to implement a more active, open and effective talent introduction policy, and promised to provide more convenience for foreign talents working in China.

Symbol of friendship
The Chinese vice premier Han Zheng and state councilor and foreign minister Wang Yi also attended the meeting. Earlier that day, 50 foreign experts had been presented the Friendship Award at the Great Hall by the vice premier of China, Liu He.

Established in 1991, the Friendship Award is an annual award issued by the Chinese government to honor experts who have made an outstanding contribution to China’s economic and social progress.

It is thus a great honor for experts to be invited to the awards ceremony, particularly as the invite not only came in recognition of the foreign expert’s contribution to China, but is also a symbol of friendship.

Up until today, 14 Danish experts have so far been awarded with the Friendship Award.