The Ninth International Congress of Chinese Mathematicians, or ICCM, is being held in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. For the first time, the ICCM awarded the Mathematics Contribution Award. The honor was given to renowned Chinese mathematician Lo Yang. Our reporter Wu Bin sat down with him to talk about China's development in the field.

Mathematician Lo Yang was born in 1939 in Nantong in east China's Jiangsu Province. In 1980, he was elected a Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 1997, he was awarded the Hualuogeng Prize in mathematics, the highest honor of its kind in China.

This year, he was given the ICCM Mathematics Contribution Award "for his brilliant academic achievements and important contributions to the advancement of Chinese mathematics, as well as his outstanding leadership and extensive influence."

WU BIN CGTN Reporter "Congratulations on winning the first ICCM Mathematics Contribution Award. How do you feel?"

LO YANG Mathematician Winner, ICCM Mathematics Contribution Award "This was quite a surprise to me. As someone in the mathematical community, I felt that it was only natural to do mathematical research and organize and care for the growth of young mathematicians. I have the responsibility and the duty to do these things, and I didn't expect to get any awards for it."

WU BIN CGTN Reporter "Three years ago, you described China as a big mathematical power that needed time to become a strong mathematical power. Now after three years, what do you think about China's development in math? Are we closer to becoming a strong power?"

LO YANG Mathematician Winner, ICCM Mathematics Contribution Award "China has become a big mathematical power, but it is not yet a strong mathematical power. This is the consensus of many people in the mathematical community at home and abroad.

"A strong mathematical power means you lead the trends in all fields of mathematics. It is true that China has made great progress over the years, but if we use this standard to measure, we still have quite a distance to go. But of course the progress in the past few years is amazing.

"If we continue with this momentum, we should be able to gradually reach the ambitious goal of becoming a strong mathematical power in a short time, within one or two decades."