China's top science prize explained: Past recipients and what to expect this year

If the names of Chinese scientists such as Tu Youyou, Yuan Longping and Gu Songfen don't ring a bell to you, you are missing out on knowing China's top-tier scientists and engineers.

China's State Science and Technology Awards, the country's top science awards for individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions in the field of scientific and technological advancement, were created by the State Council in 2000.

The awards include the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award, the State Natural Science Award, the State Technological Invention Award, the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award and the China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award.

Only two individuals are conferred with the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award each year. In 2021, the honorees were aircraft designer Gu Songfen and nuclear expert Wang Dazhong. Physicist Zhao Zhongxian and Nobel Prize-winning pharmacologist Tu Youyou were the awardees in 2018.

China's "father of hybrid rice," Yuan Longping, was among the first recipients of the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award, an honor bestowed upon him for his groundbreaking contributions to agriculture and food security.

The awardees used to be selected from self-recommendation applicants, but the process was changed to a nomination system in 2020, making the award more distinguished and esteemed, as exemplified by the drop in the award rate from 30 percent to 14.9 percent in 2020. The number of special and first prize awards for the Technological Progress Award also decreased by 20 percent compared to the previous year.

The awards aim to encourage basic scientific research and place a high value on original innovation, according to the revised regulations on the State Science and Technology Awards. 

"The State Science and Technology Awards shall closely be associated with major strategic needs and medium- and long-term scientific and technological development plans of the State. The State increases the rewards for basic research in natural science and for applied basic research," the article said.

The awards also recognize foreign experts who have worked in China for a long time and contributed to advancing science and technology within the country.

In 2020, five of the award-winning projects in the Natural Science Award, Technological Invention Award and Scientific and Technological Progress Award categories were either led by foreign experts or had them as participants. 

In 2021, eight foreign scientists and one international organization received the China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award, highlighting the significant role of international collaboration in China's scientific community.

According to an announcement in April from the National Office for Science and Technology Awards, the preliminary evaluation work for the 2023 State Science and Technology Awards has been completed. The final results are expected to be revealed in the coming week.