Alain Mérieux Awarded 'Friendship Award' in 2014

Updated: 2014-09-30 17:11

(chinadaily.com.cn)

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Mr. Alain Merieux, President of Fondation Merieux was awarded the 2014 China Government Friendship Award, and the presentation ceremony will be held on September 29th-30th at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing when Mr. Merieux will meet Premier Li Keqiang and attend a series of National Day receptions.

In the noon of Sep 30th, The Embassy of France in Beijing will host a celebration for Mr. Alain Mérieux at the ambassador's residence, and Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, the new French Ambassador to China will participate the event.

Over the last 30 years, Mr. Alain Mérieux has long been actively promoting the Sino-French cooperation in health and the development of China's health services as an official, an entrepreneur, and a social activist. He has met with successive national leaders of China and leaders of the Ministry of Health for many times.

Mr. Alain Mérieux started to promote the Sino-France cooperation since 1986 when he was the First Deputy Chairman of the Parliament of Rhone-Alpes Region. He actively promoted the scientific and economic cooperation with Shanghai, and contributed to the entrance of a number of cooperation agreements between China and France.

In 2007, Mr. Alain Mérieux was appointed by the Foreign Ministry of France as France-part chairman for the China-France Cooperation Project on Prevention and Control Approaches of Emerging Infectious Diseases. He promoted the Sino-French joint development of Wuhan P4 laboratory, which is a model of joint medical and scientific cooperation.

On March 26, 2014, President Xi Jinping and Madam Peng Liyuan visited bioMerieux Research Center and learned the cutting-edge product and technology, and inquired in the cooperation with China. President Xi remarked that the bioMerieux development is both a microcosm of the contest history between mankind and viruses, and a story of the friendly exchanges between China and France. President Xi hopes Institute Mérieux and Fondation Mérieux to make greater contributions to the promotion of Sino-French cooperation in health.

However, instead of commerce, Mr. Merieux's cooperation with China origins from his family tradition. It was as early as in 1978, Mr. Merieux has come to China to discuss cooperation. Mr. Charles Merieux, his father, is even one of the icebreakers for Sino-French civil exchanges and commercial cooperation.

Mr. Berliet, his father-in-law, also registered in the history of Sino-French relations with an automobile cooperation project long before the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and China, which was highly praised by Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping and other Chinese leaders of the older generation. Attached to this, Mr. Alain Mérieux was appointed as France Chinaman of Celebration Sponsorship Committee of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China -France diplomatic relations this year.

On September 16, 2014, bioMérieux welcomed Vice Premier Liu Yandong during her visit to Lyon. In the visit, Ms. Liu affirmed the positive role played by Institute Mérieux and Fondation Merieux in Sino-French cooperation and highly appreciated the contributions in the joint development of Wuhan P4 laboratory and fighting against the epidemic of Ebola haemorrhagic fever in West Africa. She hopes China and France continue to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning to further promote bilateral cooperation in health for getting more tangible results and better sanitation and health services of people in the two countries. In the speech of Ms. Vice Premier, she warmly congratulated Mr. Merieux for winning the Friendship Award.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. Mr. Merieux's winning of the Friendship Award will encourage the Merieux family and Institute Merieux to continue efforts in expanding cooperation in the field of health between China and France, which will for certain contribute to a new chapter of Sino-French friendship.

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