CIMMYT maize physiologist José Luis Araus received the prestigious China Friendship Award on 27 September 2008. A subsequent official reception took place with the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. The award is given every year since 1991 to foreign experts in diverse disciplines contributing to China development. Araus has worked for several years in a consultancy for a Chinese Seed Company based in Henan Province (Center of China, in the Yellow River Valley) to increase cereal yield potential.
José Luis Araus (left) with Ji Yunshi, DG State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs.
Capacity development 