On September 30, the Ceremony of the Chinese Government Friendship Award 2022 was held at the Great Hall of the People. Li Keqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, met with the award-winning foreign experts; Liu He, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, presented awards to those winners and delivered a speech. Professor Maritta, a Finnish foreign expert from Central South University (CSU), won the Chinese Government Friendship Award, becoming the fourth foreign expert from CSU to receive this award in recent years.
Professor Maritta Vaelimaeki is currently a full-time professor at Xiangya School of Nursing, Central South University. She is a top expert in the field of nursing and a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She used to work at the Department of Nursing Science, University of Turku, Finland, and served as a visiting professor at the University of London, UK, the Deputy Dean of the School of Nursing and the Chairman of the Research Committee of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, andin 2018 she was awarded the Knight First Class of the Order of the White Rose of Finland. At the beginning of the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, she overcame many difficulties to work in China and publicized the great achievements of China's fight against the epidemic through various channels. She actively participated in the preparation of the International Model School of Nursing in the Central South University, established an academic team leading the field of mental health care in Asia, assisted in the establishment of the JBI Xiangya Center for Evidence-Based Practice and Health Innovation, participated in the whole process of the only foreign aid degree training program for master's degree in nursing in mainland China, developed five international joint courses for doctoral students, and made outstanding contributions to the development of nursing education in China.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially since the reform and opening up, a large number of foreign experts have actively participated in China's modernization drive, helped China cultivate various talents, vigorously promoted Sino-foreign cooperation and exchanges, and made great efforts and important contributions to the development and progress of China. In 1991, the State Council authorized the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs to formally establish the Chinese Government Friendship Award, which is the highest government honor awarded to foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to the modernization of China. The award has honored more than 1,000 foreign experts in the fields of science and technology, economics, education, culture, and health for 31 consecutive years. This year, 49 more foreign experts received this award for their respective contributions.
Source: Office of International Cooperation and Exchanges
Authors: Liu Yuxiang, Chen Ling, Chen Jiarui
