Hundred Foreign Experts Win '99 Friendship Award 　　The Chinese government on September 29 presented the "Friendship Award" to 100 foreign experts whose expertise has contributed to China's development. 　　Each year China invites more than 80,000 foreign experts to work in universities, scientific research institutes, industrial and agricultural departments, state key construction projects, and joint ventures. 　　This year's recipients are from 26 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Oceania. 　　State Councilor Wang Zhongyu said at the ceremony that China's tremendous achievements since its founding five decades ago, especially since the initiation of the policy of reform and opening to the outside world, represent the hard work of numerous foreign experts, overseas Chinese experts and foreign friends. 　　Wang, also secretary-general of the State Council, said that adhering to opening-up is China's long-standing basic national policy, adding that "We need to actively import foreign knowledge, invite more foreign experts to work in China, and send more specialized technological and managerial personnel abroad for study and training, and we hope to conduct extensive personnel exchanges and cooperation with the rest of the world." 　　"This is an important component of the policy of opening to the outside world, as well as an important basis for us to start exchanges and cooperation in all fields with other countries," he said. 　　China sincerely welcomes more foreign experts, overseas Chinese experts and foreign friends to participate in various ways in its modernization drive, reform and opening-up in the years to come, the state councilor said. 　　Speaking on the occasion on behalf of the award winners, Kenneth Petrunik from Canada and Hussein Ismail Hussein from Egypt said that they will make even more contributions to China's development. (Xinhua) HomeNews 1999-09-30 Page3 Full Story in Chinese