On September 25th, Ambassador Liu Xiaoming met with Professor Phil Coates, Director of Interdisciplinary Research Centre (IRC) in Polymer Science and Technology, University of Bradford and presented him with the Medal in Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of People’s Republic of China.

Ambassador Liu spoke highly of Professor Coates and friends from British science and technology community for their important role in promoting the cooperation in scientific and technological innovation between China and the UK. He highlighted the significance of issuing medals to honour representatives from various sectors and international friends who have made outstanding contribution to the founding and construction of New China. The award shows China’s appreciation to the outstanding work of Professor Coates and Chinese people’s friendship towards the British people and the great importance that China has attached to promoting China-UK cooperation in scientific and technological innovation. It also demonstrates to the world of China’s unwavering stance in deepening reform and opening up. The enormous achievements of New China over the past 70 years could not have been accomplished without China opening up to the outside world and engaging in international cooperation. China will continue to strengthen cooperation with other countries in scientific and technological innovation to harvest more scientific research results to benefit peoples of China, the UK and the world and to make more contribution to building an open, inclusive and beautiful world. Ambassador Liu hopes that Professor Coates will continue to contribute to the promotion of mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between the two countries in areas such as new materials, especially in further training young scientific talents and setting up new platform and building new bridge for scientific exchanges and cooperation between China and the UK.

Professor Coates said that it is a great honour for him to be awarded the medal. China’s rapid development in science and technology has laid a firm foundation for further and deeper cooperation between China and the UK. It is of huge significance for China to put scientific and technological innovation foremost in building a modernized country. Scientific and technological innovation has brought not only prosperity to the economy and benefits to Chinese people, but also opportunities to the cooperation between the two countries. He expressed his willingness to work together with his Chinese partners to create better environment for the scientific researchers, especially young scientists, of the two countries to enhance their cooperation and produce more results that are not only win-win but also multi-win.

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Professor Coates is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and has produced leading scientific research results in in-process measurements for process monitoring, analysis and control, and computer modelling in polymer engineering. For the past decade, Professor Coates has had academic cooperations with multiple Chinese universities and scientific research institutions. In 2018, he was awarded the National Science & Technology Award for International Cooperation of the People’s Republic of China.