Fifteen Chinese students studying in the western part of the United States received Chinese government scholarships for their academic excellence on Sunday. The 2018 Chinese Government Awards for Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad were presented at a ceremony held at the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles. Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles Zhang Ping said that the awards, set up by the Chinese Education Ministry in 2003, aim to honor and encourage self-funded overseas Chinese students to achieve outstanding academic accomplishments. Zhang hoped the award-winning students would regard this as a motivation to achieve greater progress, and give back to society in the future. Zhang also encouraged overseas Chinese students to continue promoting China-U.S. friendship as well as bilateral exchanges and cooperation. Li Lei, one of the scholarship recipients, a Ph.D. student majoring in imaging techniques in biomedicine at California Institute of Technology (Caltech), said the award not only recognizes his scientific research accomplishment, but also encourages all overseas Chinese students to make more progress. Another award winner, Li Mengying, a postdoctoral fellow researching solar grid integration at the University of California, San Diego, told Xinhua that China has attached great importance to new energy development, which has provided a very good opportunity for her research and future career back in the motherland. This kind of award will help cultivate cross-border talents of the new generation, and boost educational exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, Li added. According to official statistics, a total of 500 Chinese students studying abroad received the scholarship in 2018, including 164 studying in the United States. (Xinhua) | 