On the morning of November 5, the People's Government of Shaanxi province held its annual award ceremony for the "Sanqin Friendship Prize" in Yangling, with the President of the National Foreign Expert Bureau Yuan Xudong in attendance. The member of the Standing Committee of CPC Shaanxi Provincial Committee and vice governor of Shaanxi Provincial People's Government Jiang Zelin presented the prize to 11 experts, including XJTU professor of French Lionel Vayssieres.

"Sanqin Friendship Prize" was established by Shaanxi Provincial Government to recognize foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to the economic and social development of Shaanxi province. It is the highest prize which the People's Government of Shaanxi Province bestows on foreign experts working in the province and seeks to promote exchange and cooperation between our province and foreign countries in the areas of economics, science and technology, culture, education and health. Since it was established in 1999, a total of 107 foreign experts have been recipients of the prize.