On August 13, the award ceremony for the 2025/2026 Chinese Government Scholarship was held at the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka. H.E. AmbassadorQi Zhenhong and Hon. Madhura Seneviratne, Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education of Sri Lanka, jointly presented admission notices to the scholarship recipients. Ms. Ji Lili, Counselor of Chinese Embassy and Mrs. Caldera, Additional Secretary of Sri Lankan Ministry of Education and Higher Education attended the event.

Qi Zhenhong stated that the Chinese government always attaches great importance to talent exchanges and cooperation in education. Bilateral cooperation has yielded remarkable results, with over 1,200 Sri Lankans studying or training in China annually under Chinese government funding. Meanwhile, Chinese students in Sri Lanka continue to grow in number. Young people from both countries are weaving a tapestry of "mutual engagement" in cultural exchanges, bound by knowledge. Ambassador Qi encouraged recipients to cherish this opportunity, study diligently, and contribute to building a closer China-Sri Lanka community with a shared future.

Seneviratne highly commended China’s continuous support through scholarship programs. He emphasized this year’s scholarships covered engineering, medicine, agriculture and other disciplines, crucially supporting Sri Lanka’s cultivation of inter-disciplinary talent. He urged students to diligently study and become bridges of bilateral cooperation.

Thirty scholarship recipients will pursue master’s and doctoral degrees at Tsinghua University and other leading Chinese institutions. Three student representatives expressed gratitude, pledging to cherish this opportunity and serve as friendship envoys.

The event was widely covered by Sri Lankan media including Daily News, Daily Mirror, and SLRC.