On September 30, the Ceremony of the 2019 Chinese Government Friendship Award was held at the Great Hall of the People. Li Keqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council cordially met with the honored experts and their families. Liu He, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council presented the awards and delivered a speech to the honored experts. Professor Luminita Balan, foreign Co-Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Bucharest (the CI at Bucharest) co-operated by CUPL and the University of Bucharest and famous sinologist and translator in Romania won the 2019 Chinese Government Friendship Award.

The Chinese Government Friendship Award was established in 1991 by the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs under the authorization of the State Council. It is the highest honor awarded by the Chinese government to foreign experts for their outstanding contributions to China’s modernization drive and reform and opening up. Professor Luminita Balan has long been committed to promoting cultural, educational and literary exchanges and cooperation between China and Romania, and has made outstanding contributions to the promotion of Sino-Romanian exchanges and Chinese language teaching in Romania.