China’s Highest ‘July 1 Medal’ Awarded to Eight Exemplary Figures in Public Service
Dragon Media News Desk
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has presented the “July 1 Medal” to eight outstanding Party members who have devoted decades of service to agriculture, community development, rural revitalisation, healthcare, national defence and industrial technology.
The medal, regarded as the CPC’s highest honour, was presented to seven recipients in person and awarded posthumously to one during a ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on July 1, marking the 105th anniversary of the Party’s founding.
The Communist Party of China presents the medal to members who have made exceptional contributions through long-term service to the Party, the country and the people, particularly at the grassroots level.
The recipients were agricultural expert Zhao Yafu, community workers Wu Yaqin and Ma Shanxiang, military veteran Wang Yuchang, village Party chief Li Liancheng, Xinjiang doctor Uhas Sulayman, metallurgical scientist Zhong Jue and petroleum refining expert Chen Junwu. Chen received the honour posthumously.
At the age of 85, Zhao Yafu continues to spend nearly two-thirds of each year working in experimental fields and rural communities. Frequently seen inspecting crops in the rice paddies of Jiangsu Province, he is known less as a ceremonial figure and more as an active field researcher and dedicated supporter of farmers.
While presenting the medal, Xi asked Zhao about his health.
“How is your health?” Xi asked.
“Very well. Thank you, general secretary,” Zhao replied.
Xi had also met Zhao during an inspection tour of Jiangsu in 2014, when he praised Zhao’s commitment to agriculture and rural development.
Zhao said he regarded the medal not as the conclusion of his service but as an additional responsibility. He pledged to continue studying, working and serving farmers for as long as his health allows.
According to Zhao, the fundamental meaning of being a Communist Party member is to serve the people wholeheartedly.
Speaking on behalf of this year’s recipients, 66-year-old community worker Wu Yaqin addressed the ceremony. Based in Changchun, Jilin Province, Wu has spent more than three decades serving residents of an older residential neighbourhood, managing community affairs and helping resolve disputes.
A former employee of an industrial enterprise, Wu has assisted in settling more than 1,000 disputes during her years of community work. She has also helped organise food and medicine delivery services for elderly residents, supported local employment and entrepreneurship, and contributed to educational assistance programmes for students from disadvantaged families.
Xi inspected the community where Wu works in 2020. At the time, he described her enthusiasm for public service as being “like a blazing fire.”
At the ceremony, Wu said the spirit of service had grown stronger not because of her efforts alone, but because of the Party’s cultivation, the organisation’s trust and the support of local residents.
One of the most moving moments came when 90-year-old military veteran Wang Yuchang and 90-year-old professor Zhong Jue were brought onto the stage in wheelchairs. Xi bent down to shake hands with them as he presented their medals.
After a distinguished military career, Wang returned to his hometown in Anhui Province and lived quietly as a cloth seller. For decades, he kept the certificates and honours from his military service out of public view.
Zhong Jue is a professor at the College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering of Central South University and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Known for her modest lifestyle, Zhong has led metallurgical research and contributed to the development of critical equipment and technologies required for major national projects in China.
She has repeatedly expressed confidence that Chinese scientists and technical professionals are no less capable than their counterparts elsewhere and can achieve even greater results.
Ma Shanxiang, a community mediator from Chongqing in southwest China, has spent more than three decades helping resolve local disputes and neighbourhood problems. His work has focused on listening to residents, facilitating dialogue between parties and maintaining social harmony at the grassroots level.
Li Liancheng, a village Party chief in Henan Province, has led efforts to transform barren and saline-alkali land near the Yellow River into productive farmland and a more prosperous rural community.
For three decades, he has worked to improve local infrastructure, agricultural production and residents’ incomes.
In northwest China’s Xinjiang, doctor Uhas Sulayman has spent decades delivering medical services directly to herding communities in remote areas. Travelling long distances through difficult terrain with a medicine box, he has made home visits and provided treatment to patients who might otherwise have limited access to healthcare.
Petroleum refining expert Chen Junwu devoted his life to strengthening China’s oil refining and coal-to-chemicals capabilities. Chen, who died in May 2024, was awarded the July 1 Medal posthumously.
The 2026 presentation marked the second time the July 1 Medal had been awarded. It was first conferred in 2021 during the centenary celebrations of the Communist Party of China.
The honour is generally presented every five years on major anniversaries of the Party’s founding.
Addressing the ceremony, Xi said exemplary figures, public servants and model Party members working across different sectors have played an important role in China’s development.
He called on all CPC members to strengthen their confidence, maintain sustained effort and create new achievements that meet the expectations of the times and the people.
The Communist Party of China has urged its members to learn from the recipients by giving priority to public service, responsibility, discipline, integrity and practical work at the grassroots level.
As China advances towards its goal of basically achieving socialist modernisation by 2035, the lives and contributions of such exemplary individuals are being presented as a source of social inspiration for national development.
The July 1 Medal forms part of China’s broader system of Party and state honours.
Other major awards include the Medal of the Republic, China’s highest state honour; the August 1 Medal, the highest military award; the Friendship Medal for foreign nationals; and national honorary titles recognising distinguished contributions across a wide range of fields.
Chinese authorities say the purpose of presenting medals and honorary titles is not only to recognise individual achievement but also to encourage a broader culture of public service, professional responsibility and social commitment.
China has also developed mechanisms intended to ensure that recipients receive appropriate recognition and support in both their professional work and daily lives.
