Chinese premier congratulates Tu Youyou on winning Nobel Prize for medicine

File photo taken on Nov. 15, 2011 shows Chinese pharmacologist Tu Youyou presented with the "outstanding contribution" award at a meeting held by the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in Beijing, capital of China.(Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

BEIJING, Oct. 5 -- Premier Li Keqiang on Monday congratulated herbal expert Tu Youyou on winning the 2015 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, the first Chinese woman national to win a Nobel prize in science.

"Tu's winning the prize signifies China's prosperity and progress in scientific and technological field, marks a great contribution of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to the cause of human health, and showcases China's growing strengths and rising international standing," Li said in a congratulatory letter.

Li praised Chinese scientists, including medical researchers, for their long-term, dedicated work and numerous achievements.

He also encouraged them to implement the national strategy of an innovation-driven economy, and to seek greater progress in the most advanced scientific and technological projects.

Tu was visited Monday evening by officials with the China Association for Science and Technology and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, entrusted by Vice Premier Liu Yandong.

The All-China Women's Federation also sent a congratulatory letter to Tu, hailing her as the pride of all Chinese women.

Tu, born in 1930, shared the prize with Irish-born William Campbell and Japan's Satoshi Omura for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against malaria, the Nobel Assembly at Sweden's Karolinska Institute announced Monday.

The pharmacologist discovered Artemisinin, a drug that has significantly reduced the mortality rates for patients suffering from malaria.