The Chinese Government's Friendship Award () is the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

's highest award for "foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to the country's economic and social progress".Foreign Experts Given China Friendship Award - State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, September 28, 2008
/ref> The award was first established in 1950s, when it was awarded to experts from the former Soviet Union and East European countries by the then premier

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...

and the foreign minister

Chen Yi Chen Yi may refer to: * Xuanzang (602–664), born as Chen Yi, Chinese Buddhist monk in Tang Dynasty * Chen Yi (Kuomintang) Chen Yi (; courtesy names Gongxia (公俠) and later Gongqia (公洽), sobriquet Tuisu (退素); May 3, 1883 – June ...

.Friendship Award, State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (official website, in Chinese)
On September 15, 1955, the Chinese government decreed that each departing Soviet expert be issued a medal.Evolution of the Friendship Award, China Weekly, November 30, 2009 (in Chinese) This medal featured the flags of China and the Soviet Union along with the inscription "Long live the Sino-Soviet Friendship" (). The friendship award was abolished with the

Sino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications of Marxism–Len ...

in the early 1960s. During the period that followed, in particular the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

, foreigners in China were often regarded as "spies" and very few remained in the country. After the reopening of China, a new Friendship Award was reintroduced in 1991. Since then, the winners have been selected by the

State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs The State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA; ) was an agency of the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) that operated under the State Council and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. It was responsibl ...

(SAFEA) under the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

. The award is conferred as part of the celebrations for the

National Day of the People's Republic of China National Day ( zh, s=国庆节, t=, p=guóqìng jié, l=national celebration day, links=yes), officially the National Day of the People's Republic of China (), is a public holiday in China celebrated annually on 1 October as the national da ...

(October 1). The award consist of a medal and an award certificate. The medal is decorated with a picture of the

Great Wall The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against Eurasian noma ...

on the obverse along with the inscription "Friendship Award" in Chinese ("友谊奖", on the top) and in English (on the bottom). Besides the national friendship award, various local foreign expert awards are also being made at the provincial, regional, and municipal levels. , 1,799 foreigners have received the award.

Laureates

References

{{reflist Academic awards in China Chinese awards Foreign relations of China