On 10 June, the Award Ceremony of 2019 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad was held at the Chinese Embassy in the UK. About 300 people attended the event online, including Ambassador Liu Xiaoming, Zheng Xiyuan, Chinese Consul General to Manchester, Ma Qiang, Chinese Consul General to Edinburgh, Zhang Meifang, Chinese Consul General to Belfast, the awardees, their supervisors, panelists and overseas Chinese student representatives.

On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, Ambassador Liu extended his warmest congratulations to all 47 outstanding awardees and expressed his heartfelt thanks to all their supervisors.

Ambassador said, "The outbreak of Covid-19 has not just changed our way of communication. It has also posed severe challenges to human society, made huge impact on the world economy and exerted profound influence on the international landscape. It reminds us that all mankind share weal and woe in this global crisis. We all belong to a community with a shared future. It is fair to say that now, more than ever before, we need capable young people with a responsible spirit to advance the progress of mankind, to realize the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and to promote the steady and sustained development of China-UK relations."

He hoped that the winning students would keep three missions firmly in mind. The first is the mission of promoting the progress of mankind. The students should seize the opportunities to take part in scientific and technological innovation, enhance exchanges and share outcomes, so that science and technology could provide new impetus for the prosperity in the world and play a bigger role in the progress of mankind.

The second is the mission of realizing national rejuvenation. "I hope you will carry on the glorious tradition of patriotism. I hope you will always live your personal dreams in the greater cause of striving for the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. I hope with what you have learned here and now, you could serve your motherland and people in the future. And I hope your youthful vigor will drive you on as you work harder to realize your dream," said the Ambassador.

The third is the mission of deepening China-UK relationship. China and the UK differ in social system, history, culture and development stage. But the two countries are both great civilizations with numerous talents and profound culture. British people have enormous enthusiasm to learn more about China, however, there are also bias and distortion of some politicians and media with regard to China. "You have the advantage of having studied in both China and the West. I hope you will leverage your strength to extend the reach of China's stories and the stories of China-UK cooperation. Wherever your future takes you, whether it is academia, education, science and technology or business, I look forward to your contribution to China-UK exchanges and cooperation," he said.

Yang Zongyin, PHD student from the University of Cambridge, the Extraordinary Potential Prize winner, expressed his excitement at winning the award and thanked Ambassador Liu for the encouragement and the country for the education he received. He said he would bear in mind his mission and contribute to China's scientific research and China-UK exchanges.

On behalf of the supervisors, Professor Peter Holland from the University of Oxford said, the COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the importance of international cooperation. In light of this, the UK and China should maintain close cooperation on climate change, life science, health care, energy and materials. He expressed his full confidence in UK-China educational cooperation and exchanges.

Professor Li Shujun from the University of Kent spoke on behalf of the panel of judges. He referred to the awardees as representatives of the excellent overseas Chinese students in the UK. The panel spoke highly of their scientific research and is full of expectations for their future academic achievements. They will play a bigger role in promoting cooperation between China and the UK, said Li.

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The Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad is an academic award established by the China Scholarship Council in 2003. This award is given to graduate students studying outside China in recognition of their outstanding academic performance. As of 2019, around 509 overseas students in the UK have won the award, including three Extraordinary Potential Prize winners.