The Chinese Foreign Ministry held the inaugural ceremony for the Outstanding Diplomat Medal in Beijing on Monday, honoring foreign diplomatic envoys in China who have made important contributions to promoting friendly relations between China and other countries.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, presented the medals to the eight recipients or their representatives.

The medal winners include former ambassadors to China from Russia, Cambodia, Chad and Uruguay, as well as incumbent ambassadors to China from Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and Colombia.

"Diplomatic envoys are the bridges for friendly exchanges between countries. All the medal winners are our good friends with a deep knowledge of China," Wang said while congratulating the recipients.

He said these diplomatic envoys are builders of bilateral relations, pioneers in understanding China, pacesetters in forging people-to-people connections and contributors to mutual benefit.

He expressed his hopes that the envoys will continue to contribute to friendly relations between China and other countries.

The envoys thanked the Chinese side for conferring the medal, stating that it is not only a recognition of their job but also an affirmation of the high-level bilateral relations.

They said they will cherish this honor and continue to dedicate themselves to deepening friendship with China, expanding mutually beneficial cooperation, enhancing people-to-people bonds, and making new contributions to opening up broader prospects for bilateral ties.

Approximately 300 people, including diplomatic envoys from various countries, representatives of international organizations based in China, and Chinese representatives, attended the event.