Chinese President Jiang Zemin met in Beijing on Wednesday with three Nobel Prize winners, who are attending the ongoing World Polymer Congress 2002 of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
The three scientists, who won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2000, are Alan Heeger and Alan MacDiarmid from the United States, and Hideki Shirakawa from Japan.
Jiang warmly welcomed the scientists and congratulated them on their academic achievements. He pointed out that the trio's discovery and development of conductive polymers not only changed the common idea that macromolecules could not conduct electricity,but also opened up a new research field for conductive polymers.
When introducing Chinese research in the field of polymers, Jiang said the Chinese government highly valued international cooperation over technique and basic research.
The three scientists all said they were deeply impressed by China's technological innovation and scientific achievements. They believed that China's scientific development would advance, which would be an impetus to its opening up and economic progress.
The World Polymer Congress is ranked among top-level academic meetings in the field of polymer study. The meeting in Beijing attracted more than 1,000 scientists from 45 countries and regions.
(People's Daily July 11, 2002)
